Motorists will have to be patient during the visit of Pope Francis to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on July 28. Route 138 from Boischatel to Beaupré will be closed for much of the day. Even worse: heavy and recreational vehicles will have to make a large detour through Saguenay to circulate, warns the Ministry of Transport.
Posted at 3:49 p.m.
From 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 28, Route 138 West, which runs along the St. Lawrence River, will be closed between Boischatel and Beaupré, near Quebec City, covering almost the entire length of the island. d’Orléans opposite.
Light vehicles will be able to make detours using local bypasses.
However, all heavy vehicles, including recreational vehicles, vehicles pulling a trailer or trailer, buses and minibuses, will have to make a detour via Saguenay, via routes 175 and 172.
In other words, for these vehicles, the Québec-Tadoussac trip, which usually takes 210 kilometers, will be 336 kilometres.
The Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) also specifies that other short-term obstacles will be necessary between July 27 and 29 to allow the passage of the convoy of the pontiff. Their locations will not be revealed in advance for security reasons.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT
Closure of the R-138 from Boischatel to Beaupré on July 28
Compulsory shuttle for mass
Remember that Pope Francis is making a seven-day pilgrimage to Canada from July 24, which he describes as “penitential”. The sovereign pontiff will take advantage of this trip to present the Church’s official apologies to the Aboriginals for past abuses.
People who were able to obtain a ticket for the papal mass on July 28 in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré will have to be early. They will have to take one of the shuttles available to get there from the Videotron center in Quebec City or Mont-Sainte-Anne. These shuttles will be in service from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Mass begins at 10 a.m.
The basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré will accommodate approximately 1,600 people. Some 10,000 others will be able to listen to mass on large screens outside the monumental building, 70% of whose tickets were reserved for indigenous communities. The approximately 2,000 tickets for the general public sold out in 10 minutes.
The mass will also be broadcast on a giant screen on the Plains of Abraham and in the 143 theaters of the Guzzo cinema chain in the Montreal area.
With The Associated Press and The Canadian Press