BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report
Despite the promises – right up until earlier this month – a fourth lane on the Île aux Tourtes Bridge will not be opened by the end of the year, Transport Quebec last week confirmed, adding that the prospect of restoring a more fluid flow of traffic in both directions on the span at all times of the day has been postponed to some time “before the end of the winter.”
“The return to service of a fourth traffic lane was planned before the end of 2024, but certain beams on the bridge continue to deteriorate in the Senneville sector,” Transport Quebec said in a statement. “Therefore, before reopening another lane safely, the shoring under way since last summer must be sufficiently advanced. In short, we must first complete the interventions on either side of one of the two piles under construction.”
With this ongoing work continuing throughout the winter, Transport officials said, occasional weekend closures of the span will be scheduled in the new year.
Transport Quebec officials did not provide specifics about the work that had not been completed, despite assurances two weeks ago it would provide details of the “remaining steps” required for a fourth lane to reopen.
Work to repair the Île aux Tourtes began in 2016.
When plans to build a new bridge were announced in 2018, the completion date set at that time was for 2028 or 2029. But the rate of deterioration of the old span forced Transport Quebec to shorten the timeline. It is now expected that construction of the new bridge, which began in the summer of 2023, will be completed by the end of 2026.
Two lanes of traffic in both directions of the old bridge have not been available since June 14, 2021, when it had been restored for a few days, as Transport Quebec soon reduced traffic to three lanes, opening two lanes in the direction of rush-hour traffic. This was all following the dramatic complete shutdown of the span on May 14, 2021, that banned all traffic on the bridge for 12 days.
It was also in mid-June of 2021, that Transport officials said they were aiming to have three lanes open in each direction by June 21, 2021, but that never happened.
When it was in full use, the span supported three lanes of traffic in each direction.