MONTREAL – South shore drivers looking to head into the city for the long weekend will have to think ahead.
The northbound Bonaventure Expressway will be closed for Canada Day weekend, meaning drivers going towards downtown will have to exit at Pierre Dupuis.
Efforts to replace the ageing expressway are three-quarters of the way finished and these most recent closures are a final push to complete it.
Officials said the project is on schedule – slated to finish in November – and on budget, clocking in at $141 million.
However, that isn’t stopping some drivers from venting their frustrations.
“I guess we’re going to have fun this summer,” one driver said.
“This what we do in Canada – in Montreal anyway – construction.”
Another motorist questioned whether construction will ever finish.
“What a disaster again. They need to do what they need to do but can they get it done once and for all?”
Starting Monday, the Bonaventure Expressway will close, replaced by Nazareth Street southbound and Duke Street northbound.
Both have been widened to take the extra traffic.
Additionally, reclaimed land from the demolition will be used to make a park.
“That work will be done next year,” project manager Pierre St-Marie said.