Driving through Pierrefonds-Roxoboro during rush hour has gotten much slower in the last few weeks with construction woes causing havoc.
Major construction work on Pierrefonds Boulevard has squeezed traffic down to one lane in either direction on the popular thoroughfare.
Half of the boulevard is closed as work crews replace the water main and sewer system, according to the city.
During morning and evening rush hour, cars can be seen moving at a slow crawl.
On Monday, the closure of a section of the boulevard due to a house fire caused major chaos in the streets for drivers in gridlock.
Pierrefonds Resident Daniel Deslauriers said he has never experienced congestion in Pierrefonds like this before.
“It is pretty bad because I had to go to my garage, which is five minutes away from my house, and it took me 30 minutes,” Deslauriers said.
“I actually had to turn around because the traffic wasn’t moving at all.”
Borough Mayor Jim Beis says while the traffic may have increased slightly at different times during the day, the city-run project was originally going to completely close the street.
“The initial proposal was to close the boulevard completely, which we disagreed, and modifications were made to the planning to allow for at least one lane in both directions,” Beis said.
Beis says the traffic is being well managed and regularly flows well.
Recently, two water main breaks and the residential building fire are the main reason, Beis says, for the slowdowns.
Drivers should get used to the new configuration as construction on the aqueduct system is expected to last two years.
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