Half of La Fontaine tunnel to close for 3 years starting Oct. 31

Drivers are in for quite a fright this Halloween as Quebec's Transport Ministry announced Thursday that three of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel's six lanes will be closed for major repairs fromOct. 31, 2022 until sometime in November 2025.

That means for three years,Montreal-area commuters heading to and from the South Shore willhave to make dowith just three lanes: two open towardMontreal and only one towardthe South Shore.

"We have no choice but to go through withthis work,"said Quebec Transport Minister Franois Bonnardelduring a news conference.

Hesaid theobjective of the project is to ensure the durability of the infrastructure for the next 40 years without any other major interventions.

"We will need everyone's cooperation."

The Transport Ministry is strongly urging the 120,000 average daily users of the55-year-old tunnelto come up with a Plan Bduring the course of the repairs.

It said it'saimingto convertaround 60 per cent of drivers to public transit in order to lessencongestion in the tunnel for drivers who have no other option.

Chantal Rouleau the minister responsible for the metropolis and the Montreal region said the next few weeks "will not be easy."

"They will require adaptation and patience for all as the situation evolves," she said.

Mitigation measures include free transit

The ministry has already started several mitigation measures, including park-and-ridelots in Boucherville, Beloeil and Varenneswith buses to bring those drivers to the Radisson Metro station in Montreal's east end.

Those buses will be free for the next three years starting Oct. 17. Also starting then, two free transit passeswill be given to users of these shuttles at the Radisson terminus for a period of six weeks so that they can continue their journey by public transit free of charge.

The Transport Ministry is also promising that Metro service on the yellow line will be improved, as well as the number of bus departures toward the Longueuil terminus.

For drivers who have no other option but to use the tunnel, Transports Quebec says they can expectagonizing commutes. Drivers heading toward the South Shore can expect their travel time toquadruple. Those heading to Montreal can expect it to triple.

In order to implementthe new lane configuration, a work blitz will take place over the coming weeks.

Between Oct. 21 and 23, the tunnel's northbound tube to Montreal will be closed to cars. The following weekend, betweenOct. 28 and 30,the southbound tunnel to the South Shore will be closed.

Drivers can also expect disruptions during the week ofOct. 24, where complete nighttime closures might also be required.

South Shore mayors concerned

Affected municipalities on Montreal's South Shoreare preparing for the major traffic disruptions for their residents.

InBoucherville, which is directly across the St. Lawrence from east end Montreal, the mayor is concerned traffic could pile up on some residential streets in response to the tunnel closures.

"If the main artery is blocked or jammed, we can expect that some people will decide to use residential streets as a shortcut," said Jean Martel

MarioLemay, the mayor ofSainte-Julie, says residents in the municipality which is about 10 kilometres farther away than Boucherville are stressed about the expected increase in travel time.

He said he's asked the ministry to increase the number of buses that take commuters directly from Sainte-Julieto downtown Montreal but even then, there will likely be problems.

"For a good part of the trip, the bus is stuck in traffic as well," Lemay said."You have a reserved line from Beloeil to the tunnel, but not through the tunnel."

The mayor worriesthe lane closures willlead to even more traffic on all bridgeslinking Montreal to the South Shore, including theJacques Cartier, Victoria andChamplain bridges.

"We're going to continue to make a lot of advertisements about what [residents]can use in terms of public transit," he said.

"Butunfortunately, forpeople who can't use [it],they will need a lot of patience."