If you think this summer’s traffic was bad, you were only getting a taste of what was to come.
Transports Quebec announced a series of road closures that could drive commuters insane.
“Yes, busy fall. So road users will have to change their habits,” said Transports Quebec’s spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun.
One of the major hindrances will be the closure of the ramp between 15 North and the 20 West.
As of mid-September, the ramp will shut down for two months.
That affects about 22,000 cars that use the ramp every day.
“There is no other option, you will be stuck in traffic, you will have a detour or several detours,” Bensadoun admitted.
One of those detours is the busy intersection at Côte-Saint-Luc road and Décarie Boulevard.
It’s not even rush hour on Friday, and cars are already piling up.
Commuters there can barely handle that kind of traffic.
The thought of potentially adding thousands of cars to the equation is paralyzing to some.
“That’s horrible news. I can’t believe what you just told me,” Eric Schwam said.
“We’re gonna have traffic all the way backed up into Côte-Saint-Luc — it’s gonna be bad,” Jonathan Waxman said.
Transports Quebec recommends to take exit 62 to De La Vérendrye.
Global News Morning traffic specialist Debbie Marsellos says Montrealers are in for a tough stretch.
“There’s going to be a few days of major congestion of trying to figure things out, of being late for work, and then they’ll find their way in somehow,” Marsellos said.
Transports Quebec says they’re adding several buses to the Longueuil transit system to relieve traffic.
They say public transportation is now the only solution.
“It is necessary to use public transit, it’s no longer an option because it’s going to be particularly busy,” Bensadoun said.
Other traffic closures: Montreal West highly impacted
Transports Quebec will also be working on the Ville-Marie tunnel, Highway 25, the St. Pierre interchange and the Champlain bridge this fall.
Transports Quebec says half of the work for the Turcot is already done but the next phase is set to begin mid-November.
They warn that will have a major impact for road users, especially those using de la Verandrye, Montreal West, Angrignon and the Turcot.
“In the area, please do not use the GPS because you have to follow the signage on the road. It will be completely different some of the time. It will be an itinerary. It’s not necessarily natural for road users to do it,” Bensadoun explained.
Traffic relieving measures
- Making the Champlain bridge’s reserved lane available for more hours
- Adding more parking spots to the Mont-Calm and Candiac stations
- Valet service at Repentigny station
- More buses servicing the North Shore
- Extending the reserved lane on the Bonaventure Expressway
For those who still have to drive, Marsellos is offering two pieces of advice: use the traffic app Waze to navigate the roads and repeat this mantra: “This too shall pass.”
But it will take a while until everything passes. Work on the Turcot is expected to wrap up in 2020.
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