Automobile traffic is falling in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, a month after the launch of the mega-construction site forcing the closure of three lanes out of six, has been able to observe The Press. Fewer than 60,000 vehicles now use this major infrastructure on a daily basis.
This is revealed by a report from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) published on Monday. Before work began in July 2020, 120,000 vehicles were driving through the tunnel every day. Then, in September 2022, a few weeks before the start of construction, there were only 85,000. At the beginning of December, this figure was only 58,000.
Quebec claims that it is the mitigation measures, combined with “the collaboration of road users”, which have therefore made it possible to “reduce automobile traffic in the tunnel by more than 50%”.
However, between the start of the work and today, the drop is only 31%.
In four weeks, several fixes have been made by the Legault government. The most important: since mid-November, it is forbidden for trucks to use the right lane of Autoroute 25 southbound between exit 6 (towards rue Beaubien and boulevard Yves-Prévost) and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel.
Work to “reprogram traffic lights on the municipal network” has also been carried out, in addition to adjustments related to the “necessary police presence” around the tunnel and on other axes where congestion has moved.
Over the past month, the Renouveau La Fontaine consortium — responsible for the work in the tunnel — claims to have begun “preparatory work for the repair of the walls and the vault of the tube” towards the South Shore, including “the removal of the delaminated concrete using hydraulic hammers as well as the dismantling of the wheel guards”.
The contractor “has also begun mobilizing equipment that will be used in the spring for the continuation of the work,” says the Ministry.
Increase in public transport, but…
In addition to automobile traffic, Quebec affirms that its mitigation measures – five new free shuttles have notably been set up and incentive parking lots are available to users – “have enabled many to adopt public transport”.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
A bus leaves the Radisson terminus in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to reach Boucherville.
Every day, last month, just over 1,300 people used these shuttles, whereas before October 31, it was 533 for a typical day, an increase of 147%. That said, the target of 3,000 public transit users that the authorities had set themselves is still far from being achieved.
The Ministry also recognizes that “although these statistics are encouraging, there is still a large reserve of capacity”. In the metro, the government recorded jumps of 5.3% at the Radisson station, on the green line, on average, and 4.5% at the Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke station, on the yellow line. The park-and-ride lots on the South Shore are experiencing an increase in the occupancy rate of approximately 27%.
On the water, the river shuttle between Boucherville and Promenade-Bellerive remains marginal, but still generated 5,338 trips in November, compared to 3,967 in October, a jump of nearly 35%. The last shuttle connections will be offered on December 11.
“Bus shuttles, the train and the metro offer a comfortable and reliable service, with much more predictable journey times than by car. Everyone’s efforts to get around differently make a real difference on the ground, ”said Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault in a written statement sent by her cabinet.