Turcot work to force closure of Highway 20 and 15 North for five days

The work that will cause three highway closures inthe TurcotInterchange thisweekendis expected to be some of the most complex of the project.

Teams will work to dismantle a section of the old Highway 15, heading north, without damaging Highway 20 or the rail corridor underneath it.

The complexity of the operation comes from theheight of the structure being dismantled 25 metres as well as its placement above Highway 20 and an active Canadian National Rail corridor, according toOlivier Beaulieu, the deputy project director for KPH-Turcot.

Beaulieusaid a steel plate has been installed above the railroad and highway to protect them from debris as the100-metre stretch of the Turcotis taken apart.

For drivers, here's what it all means:

• If you're heading west on the Ville-MarieExpressway, you won't be able to access Highway 20. That closure goes from Thursday night until Tuesday morning.
• If you're going east on Highway 20, you won't be able to get onto the Ville-Marie Expressway from Friday night until Tuesday morning.
• And for those travelling north from theSouth Shore/Verdun along Highway 15, you won't be able to continue on toward the DcarieExpressway from Friday night until Monday morning.

The closures are exceptional because Highway 20 will be closed on weekdays, said Transports Qubec spokesperson Martin Girard.

He said that people should work from home if possible. The ministry is also advising people to usepublic transit, workfrom home and avoidnon-essential trips.

"If people don't listen to this, we're talking about probably eight to 10 kilometres of congestion," added Sylvie Gervais, traffic managerfor KPH-Turcot.

Among the mitigation measures, the ministry is offeringfree rides on the Exo1 Vaudreuil-Hudson and Exo4 Candiac trains.

The Exo1 Vaudreuil-Hudson train line will have an additional14 off-peak departures, with stops at Dorval, Vendme and Lucien-L'Allier stations only.

With files from CBC's Jay Turnbull