MONTREAL – Orange is the ‘in’ colour for spring – and, it seems, for every season for the next three years.
It’s what motorists who use the Turcot Interchange will be seeing everyday.
READ MORE: Turcot Interchange A-15 north ramp closes until end of 2017
Starting Monday, several access ramps between Highway 15 and the Ville-Marie Expressway will be closed.
Highway 15 from the Champlain Bridge towards the 720 will close entirely.
On Decarie, those heading north will be reduced to one lane as of Monday; southbound access will be reduced to one lane starting in May.
What are the detours options?
Transports Quebec recommends detouring at Angrignon Boulevard.
READ MORE: Lachine gets a new train station to help Turcot traffic woes
The only problem is that’s not exactly on most people’s route.
“We saw cars taking the 20 west, and probably a lot of swearing as they had to make a 4.5 km detour,” said Global News traffic reporter Debbi Marsellos.
The other suggested options are carpooling or taking public transit.
Where will all the traffic go?
Traffic could end up on small residential streets like Côte-Saint-Luc Road, as cars try to avoid heading too far west.
“It’s just a nightmare there,” said traffic consultant Rick Leckner.
“That place is bad at a quiet time of the day and that cannot handle any more capacity.”
It doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better.
With upcoming projects planned on both the Bonaventure Expressway and the Champlain Bridge, things will get worse before they get better.
READ MORE: Still no plans to help commuters during Turcot Interchange construction
“We’re not in any great position to deal with three major simultanous projects,” said Leckner.
“It’s the perfect storm and we’re all paying for it. My message is this: we can’t get around it, there’s no escaping it. It’s going to get more intense. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Traffic headaches will become migraines as roadworks are expected to last until 2019.