Obstacles will increase over the next few weekends in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, as the Ministry of Transport must carry out various maintenance and inspection work. Congestion will therefore be expected until the end of the month near the infrastructure.
From July 7, night closures of the tunnel in both directions will have to be planned for the entire weekend. From Friday 11 p.m. to Saturday 8 a.m., first, Highway 25 will be completely closed towards the South Shore between exit 4 towards the Jacques-Cartier bridge and the entrance from Île Charron.
Then, the highway will be closed again between Saturday 11 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. towards the South Shore, but this time between exit 5 towards Sherbrooke Street and the same entrance from Île Charron.
In the direction of Montreal, Autoroute 25 will also be completely blocked from Friday 11 p.m. to Saturday 8 a.m., then from Saturday 11 p.m. to Sunday 9 a.m., all between exit 90 of Autoroute 20 and the entrance from the Notre Dame Street East.
Quebec is also planning other closures during the following two weekends, those of July 14 and July 21, but we do not yet know all the details. However, we already know that from July 14 to 16, there will be closures towards the South Shore at all times, to which will be added night closures towards Montreal.
From July 21 to 23, it will be the opposite: motorists will then have to deal with closures towards Montreal at all times as well as night closures towards the South Shore. “The details of the closures will be confirmed at the beginning of each week”, indicates the Ministry of Transport on this subject.
All these obstacles could nevertheless be postponed in the event of unfavorable weather conditions “or operational constraints”. The ministry invites users to consult its Québec 511 platform before traveling, in order to better plan their trips by car.
The megasite in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, which is already forcing the closure of three lanes out of six, will be in progress for several more years. Major rehabilitation of the tunnel had started in July 2020, but the structure turned out to be much more deteriorated than expected.
The vault, for example, would have 60% more damage than anticipated. Quebec will absorb all cost overruns, estimated at $900 million. According to the first schedules, all the work could last until 2026.
A neuralgic ramp closed again
Notice to motorists: the sensitive ramp at the Saint-Pierre interchange leading from the Honoré-Mercier bridge to Highway 20 westbound towards the airport will also be closed again during the weekend of July 7 to 10. . It is in this sector where we had observed a monster congestion a few weeks ago towards the airport, forcing the Ministry of Transport to make a mea-culpa. The closure will once again apply between Friday 11:59 p.m. and Monday 5 a.m. The entrance from Clément Street to Route 138 East will also be closed during the same period.