The ban on trucks from driving on Monday for an “indefinite” period on the Papineau-Leblanc bridge, linking Montreal and Laval on Highway 19, could have an impact on certain local deliveries, fears the Quebec Trucking Association .
Updated yesterday at 11:57 p.m.
“Maybe if you wait for a sofa, a stove or a fridge, it will cause [retards]. The impacts on this bridge are expected to be a lot on delivery or distribution on the island of Montreal. This is really where it will impact us the most unfortunately, ”explains its CEO, Marc Cadieux.
Quebec affirms that these are “preventive measures” for this infrastructure which could soon be the subject of repairs. In a press release, the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) however assures that “the condition of the bridge in no way compromises the safety of users”. “These measures are preventive, but necessary to ensure the integrity of the road infrastructure,” say the authorities.
Heavy vehicles will no longer be able to use the bridge spanning the Rivière des Prairies as of the evening of October 24, and this, “for an indefinite period”. “Heavy vehicles will be directed by signs to the Médéric-Martin bridge”, in other words Highway 15, says the MTQ.
For Marc Cadieux, the situation will create “bypasses and bottlenecks on other infrastructures to go from one bank to the other”, including the Pie-IX, Viau or Médéric-Martin bridges.
“It’s starting to do a lot,” drops Mr. Cadieux in stride, referring to the closure of three lanes out of six in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, further south, scheduled for October 31. “We will have to think outside the box,” adds the man whose group is demanding in particular to be able to increase the load capacity of trucks by 20%, given the feared congestion on the road network in the coming months.
A left lane also closed
Moreover, the left lane of the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge will remain closed in both directions, as it has been since June 11. Everything will be indicated “by markings on the ground rather than by cones, in order to facilitate winter maintenance of the bridge”.
Quebec also confirms that the speed limit will remain posted at 70 km / h “over the entire bridge”, also reminding users “the importance of respecting the signs in force”. “Monitoring will be provided by SAAQ road controllers upstream of the bridge,” we are assured.
The ministry says it is planning interventions “to lift these measures as soon as possible and thanks road users for their collaboration”. Users are invited to use the Québec 511 platform to better plan their trips based on road obstructions.
This new restriction measure, ordered to ensure the integrity of this 425-meter structure, some components of which must be repaired, was announced precisely 53 years after the inauguration of the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge on October 21, 1969.
With The Canadian Press