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extra westbound lane to be opened on beleaguered Île-aux-tourtes bridge
only one lane will remain open for commuters headed to montreal.
jan 11 2024
2 minute read
construction work at the base of the Île-aux tourtes bridge in senneville on dec. 11, 2023.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette
an additional westbound lane will be opened on the île-aux-tourtes bridge as of monday, transport québec announced thursday. two lanes will be open toward vaudreuil-dorion and just one lane toward montreal at all times, except during snow-clearing operations.
for safety reasons, “dynamic management,” in which two lanes are kept open in the direction of rush-hour traffic, is not possible, transport québec said. because of reinforcement work being done on the bridge’s beams, traffic lanes cannot be widened, which is required for dynamic management. two lanes are being opened in the westbound direction because it was the site of the largest traffic jams since the lanes were closed.
after a crack was discovered in the concrete slab, only two of the bridge’s six lanes have been open, one in each direction, since dec. 2, resulting in traffic bottlenecks as long as two hours on highway 40 and slowdowns on highway 20 for commuters attempting to enter or exit the western side of the island. transport québec is currently doing work on the 58-year-old bridge to reinforce the structure and open more lanes.
until another lane is opened, mitigation measures including increased commuter train service, and allowing buses to use the shoulder of westbound highway 40, will continue. starting this week, extra buses were added for the no. 11 bus running from hudson train station to vaudreuil.
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free train and bus services will remain in effect on certain lines for january. as of february, users will need a valid transit pass. cheaper fares will be offered.
free tolls will remain in effect on highway 30 but only eastbound between 5:30 and 9:30 a.m. weekdays.
officials are reviewing the synchronization of traffic lights on highway 20 to speed the commute of drivers headed to montreal. inclement weather, which is being predicted for this weekend, could impede the opening of the westbound lane, officials warned.
the bridge will be closed entirely from 8 p.m. sunday to 5 a.m. monday to reconfigure traffic lanes.
quebec transport minister geneviève guilbault announced dec. 11 that work had officially begun on a new span to replace the Île-aux-tourtes bridge . she said every effort will be made to have the new bridge open for the end of 2026. it was originally expected to only open at the end of 2027. the projected cost is $2.3 billion.
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