The fire of a moving semi-trailer truck, which occurred early Friday under an overpass of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM), forced the closure of Highway 15 North at the exit of the Samuel-De Champlain bridge in the morning, and this, for “an indefinite period”. Rush hour was heavily disrupted.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) reports having been called to the scene around 1:45 a.m. on Friday for a semi-trailer truck that was on fire. No one was injured, however, including the driver who escaped unscathed. “Nor would there be any hazardous materials involved at first sight,” said agent Stéphane Tremblay, spokesman for the SQ.
Several firefighters from the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) were dispatched to the scene. The vehicle was completely burned. “All lanes have been closed as a safety measure and a detour has been organized via the Bonaventure Expressway,” said Mr. Tremblay.
Shortly after 8 a.m., the Department of Transportation said road cleaning and inspections were still required before reopening. The closure of Highway 15 North between the Bonaventure and Gaétan-Laberge axes was then maintained for an “indefinite period”, thus hindering one of the main accesses to the Samuel-De Champlain bridge.
Traffic was very heavy there on Friday morning. All the other crossings between the South Shore and Montreal, namely the Jacques-Cartier and Victoria bridges as well as the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, were also unsurprisingly very hampered at the start of the day.
The office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, has also indicated that it has extended the peak schedule at the Victoria Bridge. “The two spans will remain in the direction of Montreal until further notice in order to help traffic,” said press officer Maxime Roy.
Structural testing
On the way from The Press, Friday morning, engineers were still inspecting the structure of the REM rail which was damaged by the fire. According to our information, the viaduct did not suffer any major material damage, but we do not want to take any risks with the holding of a technical inspection.
“The inspection aims to confirm, as a first step, the restoration of motorway traffic. In a second, if the REM tests can continue between L’Île-des-Sœurs and the Central station. In the meantime, all test activities are maintained between the Brossard station and the Île-des-Sœurs station, ”explained a spokesperson for CDPQ Infra, Emmanuelle Rouillard-Moreau.
Tuesday evening, firefighters and paramedics were also observed on the Samuel-De Champlain bridge, very close to the REM tracks. However, this was an “emergency simulation” part of the current tests.
“Emergency simulations are an integral part of the test phase for the commissioning of the REM on the South Shore. These exercises allow the operation teams and emergency services to deal effectively with unforeseen situations and to ensure that the REM is ready to deal with all kinds of situations,” Mr.me Rouillard-Moreau.
All this comes as the final stage prior to the inauguration of the REM is slow to begin: four weeks after the postponement of the launch of the service, confirmed in May, the “blank run” had still not started at the start of the week. .
By “white run”, we mean the final phase of tests which should last “about a month”, corresponds to normal operation of the network, but without passengers, specifies CDPQ Infra on its site. During this period, “the cars will circulate at the frequency and at the times planned for the commissioning”.
With Philippe Teisceira-Lessard