Traffic to enter the island of Montreal with the start of major work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel was much lower than expected Monday morning, but motorists could be surprised in the coming days.
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Announced in July 2020, the mega-construction of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, which should stretch until 2025, finally began on Monday.
Only three of the six lanes – two northbound and one towards the South Shore – will remain accessible until the end of the work, thus increasing the pressure on the other links on the island.
Photo QMI Agency, Joêl Lemay
Police were trying to keep traffic flowing near the Souligny Avenue entrance to Highway 25 south towards the La Fontaine tunnel.
Faced with the apprehension of many motorists, truckers and transporters of all kinds in the last few days, The newspaper decided to test the crossing to reach the island of Montreal at rush hour, leaving from Quebec.
The traffic ended up being much less dense than expected.
Some slowdowns
A first trip from the borough of Beauport to the TVA Montreal building in Ville-Marie, via Highway 20 and the Jacques-Cartier bridge, went off without a hitch.
Leaving the Old Capital around 6 a.m., The newspaper arrived on site 2 h 40 min later, the average time – and even a little faster – indicated by Google Maps before the works.
At the same time, The newspaper noted an identical situation on the North Shore side, where a journalist took the A-40 from Limoilou to arrive at the same destination.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Monday morning traffic in the tunnel.
If the trip was a little longer, 3 h 15 min despite a distance of just a few more kilometers, it is mainly due to slowdowns on Highway 25, at Beaubien Street. .
Traffic came to a complete stop a few times, but never for long. No animosity was observed on the road.
Surprises to come?
The work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel seems to have had very little impact on the density of traffic in the metropolis, as evidenced by the respective average speeds of 98 km/h and 82 km/h for the two routes.
But motorists who would be tempted to resume their travel habits in the coming days could be surprised.
A large part of the Montreal population is working from home on Mondays, not to mention the impact of Halloween.
Remember that the repair of the southbound tunnel tube will stretch until 2024, after which it will be the turn of the northbound one, until 2025. The end of the obstructions is scheduled for November 2025.
– With the collaboration of Catherine Bouchard
From Quebec to Montreal Monday morning
Trip 1
- From Limoilou to the TVA Montreal building, via thehighway 40 and the Charles-De Gaulle bridge
- 267km
- Departure time : 6 a.m.
- Arriving time : 9:15 a.m.
- Travel time: 3 hrs 15 mins
- Average time before work: Between 3 a.m. and 3 hrs 40 mins*
- Average speed : 82 km/h
Trip 2
- From Beauport to the TVA Montreal building, via thehighway 20 and the Jacques Cartier Bridge
- 262km
- Departure time : 6 a.m.
- Arriving time : 8:40 a.m.
- Travel time: 2 hrs 40 mins
- Average time before work: between 2 hrs 40 mins and 3 hrs 20 mins*
- Average speed : 98 km/h
* According to Google Maps