Several highways in Greater Montreal will be congested this weekend, as calls for vigilance multiply ahead of the construction holidays, during which an average of twenty people lose their lives each year.
Almost everywhere, in the next two weeks, you will have to “allow more time to get to your destination,” indicated Thursday the Mobilité Montréal committee, responsible for coordinating major obstacles in the metropolitan region.
In Montreal, Highway 25 will be heavily congested throughout the weekend. In the northbound direction, the entrance from Curatteau Street and exit 5 are expected to be closed. One of the two lanes will also have to be partially blocked between exit 3 and the Curatteau Street overpass.
Not far from there, the Bonaventure Expressway ramp leading to the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge, at exit 5, will be closed until early September. This Saturday, moreover, the Jacques-Cartier Bridge will be closed in the evening for the International des Feux Loto-Québec. The same goes for the Ville-Marie and Viger tunnels.
The long-term municipal obstructions on Rose-de-Lima Street and De Lorimier Avenue also remain in place.
On Highway 40, in Kirkland, one of the three traffic lanes will also have to be closed at exit 50, towards Saint-Charles Boulevard.
Between Sunday evening and Monday morning, Highway 520-Côte-de-Liesse will have to be completely closed towards the east, between exit 4 and the entrance from Hickmore Street.
Not far from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Highway 30-West will have to be closed for three consecutive nights of the weekend, this time between exit 5 leading to Highway 20 and the entrance to Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes.
During the same period, in Beauharnois and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, only one lane in each direction will remain available on Highway 30 East between kilometres 15 and 22, which includes the Madeleine-Parent Bridge. The latter will also see two of its three lanes cut towards the west during the days of Saturday and Sunday.
In Centre-du-Québec, the Laviolette Bridge connecting Trois-Rivières and Bécancour is continuing its rejuvenation. Two of its four lanes will be closed from Sunday to next Thursday. This will leave only one lane in each direction.
19 deaths each year
This all comes as earlier on Wednesday, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) issued a call for vigilance a few hours before the start of the construction holiday, saying its goal was “to reverse the trend regarding the high number of victims during this period.” Quebec City and Montreal have also delivered similar messages. The SAAQ records some 1,500 road victims every year during these two summer weeks, including an average of 19 deaths, 83 serious injuries and 1,466 minor injuries. The main causes of accidents remain fatigue, impaired driving, distraction, reckless behavior and speed.