The Île-aux-Tourtes bridge will soon have a third lane of traffic. Starting next Monday, two lanes will now be available towards Vaudreuil-Dorion and one towards Montreal. However, dynamic management of traffic in the direction of rush hour will end for safety reasons.
This was announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) in a press release, specifying that the repair work on a portion of the damaged slab of the bridge is now completed.
In recent weeks, two lanes of the bridge had been closed in quick succession due to damage discovered on the structure, which only had two out of six. Several mitigation measures were taken urgently, including free buses and trains, in addition to the toll suspended on Highway 30.
Under pressure, Quebec confirmed at the beginning of December the launch of work on the new bridge, which must be partially put into service – with five lanes out of six – in December 2026. If all goes well, the six lanes would then be ready at the end of 2027, for a total cost of 2.3 billion, including a multi-purpose path for cyclists and pedestrians.
In short, in the short term, a third lane will reopen next Monday. At all times, two lanes will go towards Vaudreuil-Dorion and another towards Montreal.
In other words, lane management based on rush hour will end, since “the space required to continue the work to reinforce the beams does not allow the width of the traffic lanes to be increased at the moment”, says the ministry.
According to the ministry, the choice to keep two lanes towards Vaudreuil-Dorion was made based on “periods of congestion having been greater” towards this municipality in recent weeks.
What’s coming
The government maintains, however, that a reconfiguration of traffic is planned with the opening of a third lane, for example adjustments to the guardrail as well as marking work. It will also be necessary to provide obstructions during the night from Thursday to Friday and from Sunday to Monday to make these changes.
In the event of a winter storm, the third lane may have to be temporarily closed to allow snow plows to do their work safely, we warn.
For the future, other routes could reopen in the coming months, as the support work progresses, but nothing is certain yet.
In the meantime, the improvement of train service and the use of the shoulder by buses (UAB) on Highway 40 West will remain in place, assures Quebec, recalling that new stops at Hudson station, on the line 11 Vaudreuil-Hudson, have been in place since January 8.
Free trains and buses will remain in place for the month of January, but will end at the turn of February. “Advantageous price reductions” could, however, be put forward at this time. It is still unclear what is planned in this regard.
Finally, starting Monday, the toll suspension on Highway 30 will be maintained eastward, but only between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Monday to Friday. On Highway 20, authorities will also once again review the synchronization of traffic lights to facilitate traffic towards Montreal.