The Ministry of Transport acknowledges that it can “improve” after weekend road closures that caused massive congestion and delays at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Airport. A global plan for the work to come must be unveiled in June, but the summer already promises to be very busy with construction sites.
“There is a post-mortem that will be done with what we saw at the end of the week, especially for Saturday, which was exceptional in terms of congestion, compared to Sunday and Monday which were closer to the anticipated congestion. We are going to examine what elements can be improved to prevent it from happening again, ”said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, Martin Girard, in an interview with The Press.
Over the weekend, hundreds of passengers missed their flights after waiting for hours in a traffic jam caused by the closure of the westbound A20 and an on-ramp to the same highway.
On Saturday, a group of 29 college students and 4 adults missed their flight to Athens due to heavy congestion near the airport. Other travellers, like Nicole Beaulieu and her husband Gilles, missed their flight to France and had to buy $1,700 tickets to go on vacation.
Mr. Girard acknowledges that “elements” of internal planning could be “changed” or “improved”, but ensures that the coordination of the sites is there. “We made sure that there were no other obstacles on the major axes of the ministry. At the same time, there was nothing on boulevard Décarie or on the 40 or even the 520, ”he illustrates in this sense.
It must be understood that this closure was “inevitable”, continues the spokesperson. “These are essential repairs and concrete demolition work that we had to do to ensure that the structure was kept safe and open. We had no choice but to close: no one wanted to end up having to close in an emergency. It would have been even worse, ”insists Martin Girard.
Plant reacts
In Montreal, Mayor Valérie Plante strongly deplored the situation when she was called to react on Tuesday, however throwing the ball back to Quebec.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante
I like to remind you that, just as at the City of Montreal, we want to ensure that people can get around the island as easily as possible, we also want entrances and exits to be easily accessible. And that, of course, we challenge our colleagues at the MTQ to ensure that it is done well.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, for her part assured on Tuesday that she was “well aware that the obstacles cause inconvenience”.
“This is why we make sure to communicate, in advance, the impediments to come: press releases, Mobility Montreal, 511, etc. We have to do the work to ensure we keep our infrastructure in good condition. It is not ideal, we agree, but it is essential, ”she said in a statement sent by her cabinet.
Its press officer, Maxime Roy, affirms that the “coordination of major weekend obstructions” committee of Mobilité Montréal “has met 5 times since March 21” and that another meeting is scheduled for May 30. A “technical briefing” will also be organized on June 8 to “give an overview of the work and obstacles to come this summer”.
Towards a busy season
All this is happening just as the summer promises to be busy: the Quebec Ministry of Transport has just announced the total closure of Highway 40 East for the entire summer. The artery’s concrete pavement must be completely rebuilt between the Morgan Boulevard sector in Baie-d’Urfé and the Saint-Charles Boulevard sector in Kirkland, where approximately 110,000 vehicles pass through every day.
The highway will be closed eastbound from Saturday, May 27 and for the entire summer, confirmed Sarah Bensadoun, spokesperson for the Quebec Ministry of Transport. “Traffic will be diverted to the western portion,” she said over the phone. “We will use the shoulders to benefit from additional space. “Three lanes will be open in the direction of the tip and two lanes in the opposite direction.
Mme Bensadoun pointed out that the obstruction was new, but that these concrete repair works on the A40 have been in progress for a few years. “Since the work could cause noise, the Ministry has planned the installation of a temporary noise barrier, between the sector of rue Gérard-Guindon and chemin Sainte-Marie,” added the MTQ in a press release.
“The construction season has started, so we can definitely expect a lot of construction sites. We invite people to resume the reflex of consulting Quebec 511 or the Facebook page of Mobility Montreal, to see the obstacles live before hitting the road, ”concludes Martin Girard.