Travel will be more complicated this weekend in the metropolis due to the 32e edition of the Montreal Marathon. The City calls for public transportation to be favored, but reminds that several crossing points will be available by car.
First of all, on Saturday, Montrealers are asked to avoid the Maisonneuve and Louisiana parks area, as well as the Viau and Rosemont axes, where the 1, 5 and 10 kilometre events will be held.
On Sunday, the half-marathon and full marathon runners will start from Espace 67, then pass through Old Montreal, Berri Hill and La Fontaine Park, before crossing the island via Saint-Laurent Boulevard to Rivière-des-Prairies. They will then go back down the same axis and return east along Saint-Joseph Boulevard to Maisonneuve Park.
In short, you will have to avoid the Saint-Laurent and Saint-Joseph axes on Sunday. That said, Sherbrooke Street, Highway 40, Viger Avenue and the Van Horne Viaduct remain open to automobile traffic.
MAP PROVIDED BY THE BENEVA MONTREAL MARATHON
“We expect high levels of congestion, so you’ll really have to plan your trips. In fact, the marathon route will be integrated into Waze and Google Maps for the first time this year,” explains the city’s administrative spokesperson, Guillaume Rivest.
The latter invites motorists to “leave very early on Saturday, before 6:30 a.m., and return very late on Sunday, after 3:30 p.m.” to avoid congestion. “Otherwise, use public transport at all times and, above all, buy your tickets in advance.”
Notice to cyclists: BIXIs will be free all day Sunday, provided you have an account on the application.
On the upper network, the Ministry of Transport has confirmed that work in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will be suspended throughout the weekend, in order to facilitate inter-river travel. The Jacques-Cartier Bridge will also remain open during the marathon.
Mr. Rivest says that the City “walked the entire route with its partners to ensure that there were no conflicts between municipal construction sites, private works and the marathon.” All the boroughs concerned also filled in the potholes necessary on the route,” he assures, reminding that if you live on the route of the event, you must move your vehicle, or risk being towed.
Some major obstacles
Mobilité Montréal indicated Thursday that the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge will be closed again this weekend between Vaudreuil-Dorion and Senneville, in both directions. In Centre-du-Québec, the Laviolette bridge connecting Trois-Rivières to Bécancour, which is undergoing major work, will lose two lanes from Friday evening to Monday morning. Finally, on the island of Montréal, one of the two lanes of Chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse Est, at the ramp to Highway 40, will be closed for the weekend.