Transport minister begs commuters to try public transit as fall roadwork approaches

With a spateof roadwork projects slated to get underwaythis fall, getting to downtown Montreal will be particularly difficult for commuters coming from points west.

Access to the Ville-Marie Expressway from Highway 20 will be downto one lane starting mid-October.

But that's not all:As ofmid-November, the Ville-Marie eastbound from theTurcotInterchangeto the tunnelwill be down to two lanes for several months and will be completely off limits for 15 to 20 weekends.

Drivers coming from Highway 20 and the Dcarie Expressway will be redirectedonto a two-lane detour route.

More problem areas

Those who opt for driving through Montreal to get from west to east will also run into issues, notably on Ren-Lvesque Boulevard, where Hydro-Qubec is carrying out work on sections of theeastbound lanes, and on Sherbrooke Street, where the city is doing work that has it down to one lane in each direction.

Another problem area will be in theVilleray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extensionboroughnear the Metropolitan Highway.

Until November 2017, crews will carry out roadwork onPapineau Avenue between Jacques-Casaultand Louvain streets and St-Michel Boulevard between Shaughnessy Boulevard and Jarry Street.

Weekend work on bridges

The Champlain and Mercierbridges will alsobe subject to major closures.

The ChamplainBridgewill be closed for four weekends beginning in September. Southbound lanes of the bridge will be off limits for two weekends, and cityboundlanes will be closed the other two weekends.

Transports Qubecwill start work on its section of the Mercier Bridge in October, meaning there will be lane closures on thatbridge as well.

Also, starting in September, access to Highway 20 coming from the Mercier will be down to one lane.

Why all at once?

Transport Minister JacquesDaoustsaid manythe projects werea long time coming.

When it comes to infrastructurethat is nearingthe end of itsuseful life like theChamplain Bridge, Daoustsaid he would prefer to build new roadsover fixing the old ones,but the realityis the old roads are still needed and must be repaired.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said the focus is on building a sustainable network that will ultimately improve Montrealers' quality of life.

He bristled when asked why all the projects, including thecovering of the Ville-Marie, now in progress,and the dismantlingof the Bonaventure Expressway, had to be done at the same time.

"Of course, people aren't happy, but they understand that at the end of the day it's going to be a wonderful city, and it's a good investment," Coderresaid.

"If people are mad, it's better they're mad [at] me because I'm doing something than if I wasn't doing anything."

Plan ahead, change your habits

Daoustimplored drivers to "be a partof the solution" andtry to use modes oftransportationother than cars.

The Quebec511websitewill be continuallyupdated with information to help commuters get around.

MobilitMontral, a committeemade up of representatives fromthe transport ministry and from the cities of Montreal, Longueuil and Laval, pledged $46 million for measures to help ease the pain for commuters.

In order to encourage the use of public transit, hundreds of parking spaces will be added to lots in Montreal, Laval,Chteauguayand Brossard.

Another $17 million will go to the STM, which will add 130 trips during rush hour to 13bus lines that serve the Angrignon and Lionel-GroulxMetrostations.

Other measures include:

• Increased service towardsdowntown for a number of South Shore bus lines.
• Increased service on the Metro's Green line during rush hour.

• A bus lane on the Bonaventure Expressway toward downtown.