Works at the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel | Montreal says it is in “solutions mode”

The City of Montreal ensures that it will be ready to implement several additional measures in the area of ​​the Jacques-Cartier bridge, in order to reduce the repercussions of the closures in sight in the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel. The City is also asking Quebec to predict the impacts on the local network.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

“The City has been preparing for this project for several years. We have reviewed our entire schedule to speed up certain construction sites, precisely near the Jacques-Cartier bridge, to try to limit the pressure as much as possible, upstream of all that. But it’s sure going to be difficult, ”concedes the head of transport and mobility on the Montreal executive committee, Sophie Mauzerolle, in an interview with The Press.

If there is no “magic solution” to such a vast project, the elected official ensures that several options could be considered, depending on the seriousness of the situation.

Last Thursday, the engineer for the contractor Renouveau Lafontaine, Geneviève Campeau, admitted that 60% of motorists using the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will have to change their habits so that the imposing construction site does not turn into a nightmare. “We will need everyone’s collaboration,” insisted the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, inviting employers to adapt their employees’ schedules as needed.

Quebec will close three of the six infrastructure lanes as of Monday, October 31 until the end of 2025, but motorists will have to deal with major obstacles as of Friday, October 21. Next weekend, between Friday evening and Monday morning, the tunnel will be completely closed northbound in order to install lane usage lights and concrete guardrails. Then, from Friday 28 to Saturday 30 October, the tunnel will be completely closed in the south direction to carry out the same type of work. From Monday, October 24, it will also be necessary to provide for “night closures during the week to complete certain activities”.

And the local network?

For the City of Montreal, a crucial concern remains: what will happen to local streets, for example in the Sainte-Marie district, at the exit of the Jacques-Cartier bridge? “The government is working on optimizing the upper network, which is commendable, but it must be said: it will not be enough. It is already difficult in our streets, and the citizens are hyper concerned, with good reason, about what it will become, ”slips M^me Mauzerolle.

“We would like the MTQ [ministère des Transports] examines the impacts of the construction site on our living environments. Because at the moment, we don’t know exactly how motorists will behave,” she adds, promising that the City will be “prompt to propose improvements” in the neighborhoods.

The Plante administration is also calling on the government to put in place “specific reduction measures” near employment centers, such as hospitals. “The challenge is not just getting people to come and go from the city, but also getting them to move around once they’re there”, illustrates the councillor.

Industry requests

At the Quebec Trucking Association, President and General Manager Marc Cadieux demands that the City ensure at least “a review and calibration of traffic lights” at the exit of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, especially in the Papineau axis. “It will also be necessary to have traffic officers in sufficient numbers to speed up traffic during crucial periods”, he recalls.

According to Mr. Cadieux, the Jacques-Cartier Bridge sector will be “certainly very difficult to manage”.

More generally, his group is asking Quebec to allow trucks to increase their load capacity on certain routes. “It is currently being studied by the government. What we would like is to be able to transport more goods, about 20% more, because labor is scarce, but also because travel times will be considerably longer,” says Mr. Cadieux. .

“Otherwise, other cards will have to be taken out of the game if necessary, with, for example, an exclusion of auto-solo between such and such a time in the bridge-tunnel. One could also explore hours or lanes exclusive to the transport of goods. We hope not to have to go there, but we will have to if we see that the industry is in danger of serious disruption, ”concludes the CEO.