(Montreal) Bad news is piling up for motorists who use the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge daily. After the discovery of a crack forcing the closure of a road around ten days ago, users of the infrastructure will once again have to be patient: from the night of Friday to Saturday, only one traffic lane will be accessible in each direction for several weeks.
The Ministry of Transport of Quebec (MTQ) explains this unforeseen closure by “damage to a portion of the slab”.
To alleviate the congestion caused by this closure, motorists are invited by the MTQ to favor public transportation, or to take Highway 20.
Truckers are invited to take a detour via Highway 30, the toll for which will be free for the duration of the closure.
Starting Monday, train service on the exo11 Vaudreuil-Hudson line will be free for passengers boarding at Hudon, Vaudreuil, Dorion, Pincourt and Île-Perrot stations.
Additional departures will also be added to the train schedule, as will around a hundred bus departures on routes 7,10, 35 and 40 managed by exo.
As soon as the slab is repaired – the MTQ has not specified a timetable – the reopening of a third lane on the bridge could be considered, making it possible to improve traffic during rush hours.
Other discoveries
The discovery of the damaged slab comes almost two weeks after a crack was detected on the bridge, which led to the closure of one lane, again for an indefinite period.
The MTQ planned to carry out more in-depth assessments and analyses.
The Île-aux-Tourtes bridge also had to be urgently closed on May 20, 2021 due to damage caused to reinforcing rods during drilling work.
The Île-aux-Tourtes bridge has been in service since 1965, but the Ministry of Transport assures “that traffic on the bridge remains safe” and that in case of doubt, it will not hesitate to prohibit the access to the bridge.
This is an important infrastructure which is used by 87,000 vehicles daily, including 10% trucks, according to ministry data. Many road users use it to travel to Ontario via Highway 40 or to enter the metropolis.