Major work in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will begin on October 31 and will continue for three years. The Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) is already warning users that travel times between the South Shore and the metropolis will increase significantly. The ministry also hopes that thousands of motorists will convert to public transport in order to mitigate the repercussions of this construction site.
Last August, the MTQ announced that the tunnel was showing signs of more advanced deterioration than expected and that it would have to carry out major work requiring the closure of one of the two tubes.
Thus, from October 31, only one tube of the tunnel will be open, the ministry said on Thursday. Southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane, while two lanes will be accessible northbound. Which makes the MTQ say that the travel time to the South Shore will be quadrupled, and that to Montreal, tripled. “We know that it will be extremely difficult for motorists,” said Transport Minister François Bonnardel.
To substantially reduce congestion, 60% of motorists would have to give up car trips, according to the ministry.
To make them love public transit, the authorities will make access to the five bus lines that use the tunnel between the South Shore incentive parking lots and the Radisson terminus free for six weeks. Shuttles will be added, some 2,400 spaces will be available in the incentive parking lots, and carpooling will be encouraged. “One thing is certain, the solo car turns out to be the worst solution. This is the perfect opportunity to migrate to public transit,” indicated the Minister responsible for the Metropolis, Chantal Rouleau.
A “tactical cell” will be set up to assess the effectiveness of the mitigation measures put in place, the travel times, as well as the ridership rate for public transport and park-and-ride facilities.
Two weekends of preparatory work that will be used to develop the new configurations will be necessary before the major obstacles are put in place. Guardrails will be installed, and the MTQ will mark and paving the tunnel entrances. “These operations are largely dependent on weather conditions. If it rains heavily and the conditions are not very good, everything will have to be postponed until the following weekend,” explained Minister Bonnardel.
Work in the bridge-tunnel will continue until 2025. A squad of patrollers as well as fire and tug crews will be available to intervene in the event of an emergency.
Currently, 120,000 vehicles, 13% of which are trucks, use the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel every day. Minister Bonnardel recognizes that the patience of drivers will be put to the test, but this work is necessary so that they benefit from a tunnel without major work for 40 years, he underlined.