Motorists wishing to travel to Montreal via the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel on Thursday evening will have to find another option. In the middle of a mega-construction site, the infrastructure will be completely closed to traffic in the direction of the metropolis, overnight from Thursday to Friday, due to maintenance work.
In a brief press release, the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (MTMD) clarified on Tuesday that “this closure is required in order to carry out marking and maintenance work on traffic cameras”.
Thus, the complete closure of the two remaining lanes to Montreal will be effective from November 24, 9 p.m., until November 25, 5 a.m. Specifically, traffic will be prohibited between exit 90 of Highway 20 and Sherbrooke Street East.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
Quebec ensures that such a closure is not unforeseen; moreover, last week, Highway 25 was also completely closed southbound, between exit 4 and Île Charon between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., in order to implement new lane management for the trucks.
“During the implementation of the new configuration of the tunnel, we affirmed that no weekend closures are planned in the open tube and that night closures will be required occasionally to carry out routine maintenance operations. “, has indeed justified the ministry.
In the meantime, the mega-construction involving the closure of one lane towards Montreal and two lanes towards the South Shore is continuing in the La Fontaine tunnel. Major work valued at $900 million must be spread out until 2025, in order to repair the structure and the vault of the infrastructure, which would be 60% more damaged than initially anticipated by the government.
Notice to motorists: the only remaining lane to the South Shore will remain in service overnight from Thursday to Friday.