Champlain Bridge repairs cause major congestion

South Shore commuters faced long lineups to Montreal Wednesday morning because of road work delays on the Champlain Bridge.

At 7 a.m. ET, commuters reported waiting more than an hour to reach the St-Lawrence river from Hwy 10.

Authorities decided to slow traffic on the bridge because of problems with the road work from the previous evening.

At 10 p.m. Tuesday, the two northbound lanes of the bridge were shut while a contractor worked on one of the bridge joints, said a spokesperson for the corporation that runs the bridge. The work was supposed to be completed by 5 a.m. Wednesday.

However, when new pavement was put in place, it wasn't level with the existing pavement, explained Jean-Vincet Lacroix, chief of communications for The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated.

"The level was a two-inch difference and when the first car passed on it, it was tough for their wheels, " said Lacroix.

The decision was taken to slow down traffic heading on to the bridge, which resulted in the delays.

The bridge authority also had to shut down two out of the three lanes again between noon and 1 p.m. on Wednesday in order to make the necessary repairs.

Corporation officials met with the contractor who did the work to find out what happened, said Lacroix.

He also offered assurances to Montreal commuters.

"This kind of situation won't happen again. We'll make sure that every rush hour in the morning or in the afternoon is not touched by work like this."