South Shore drivers are in for quite the frightful Halloween as a partial closure of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel is set to begin on Oct. 31.
Three of the six lanes will be closed to traffic as major repair work begins on the 55-year-old structure for the next three years.
Only two lanes will be open towards Montreal and one lane heading to the South Shore according to the Transport Ministry.
In a technical briefing Thursday, the ministry urges 120,000 daily commuters to come up with a “Plan B” to lessen congestion.
The more than $2-billion overhaul set to finish in November 2025 is said to extend the structure’s life span by 40 years.
The first phases of the closure will begin with a weekend work blitz starting Oct. 21 closing the northbound tunnel.
Work on the South Shore tube will be done on the following weekend in preparation for the upcoming repairs.
Mitigation measures have been put in place to deal with an expected influx of traffic delays.
The Transport Ministry hopes to reduce the number of daily users by 60 per cent.
The RTL-61, RTL-461, exo-520, exo-521 and exo-532 shuttles serving terminus Radisson in Montreal will be free starting Oct. 17 for the next three years.