It’s not normal protocol for a local mayor to issue a warning about a structure outside his jurisdiction.
But Châteauguay mayor Pierre-Paul Routhier took the unusual step of making this announcement on Facebook: more delays on the Mercier Bridge are just around the corner.
“So we will have to suffer additional closures of the bridge for nine weekends that will start on October 5th,” Routhier posted in a video on the Vision Châteauguay Equipe Routhier Team Facebook page.
Repair work on the provincial side of the span is expected to continue through the fall — and well beyond.
“People can expect maintenance work every year on the structure towards south shore,” Martin Girard, a Transport Quebec spokesperson, tells Global News.
WATCH: Châteauguay mayor talks easing traffic congestion on Mercier Bridge
Ongoing maintenance work on the bridge has caused lengthy delays for drivers throughout the summer.
Routhier claims in his online video message that only 45 per cent of the job is complete. Transport Quebec, meanwhile, insists additional work planned for the fall was announced well in advance.
“It was known this summer that we have to go,” Girard said. “Other weekends will be needed to do some work during the weekend.”
The next round of roadwork beginning the first weekend in October has many drivers seeing red.
“Very frustrated. It’s annoying, it’s frustrating, it breaks up your day,” Mary Scullion told Global News. “Every time you decide you’re going to go somewhere, you’re always checking what the traffic situation is.”
Girard tells Global News it’still unclear how long the upcoming repair work will last on the Mercier Bridge.
But it’s expected to continue into 2019 and perhaps beyond.