JOHN JANTAK
The 1019 Report

The reopening of a third lane in the direction of rush-hour traffic across the Île aux Tourtes Bridge earlier this month has given commuters some relief from long delays, but it does not signal the end of roadwork to maintain the aging span.

In fact, the ongoing work has no end in sight. Restricting traffic over the span in the form of additional lane closures is expected to continue regularly over weekends at various intervals.

“What we know for sure is that there is going to be maintenance work until the bridge is dismantled,” said Transport Quebec spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun earlier this month.

But one detail involving the ongoing work that is coming into sharper focus is its cost, which has now been pegged at $376.7 million.

That figure includes the nearly $176 million spent before the beginning of this year on safety and repairs of the two-kilometre bridge. The earlier work, carried out from 2020 to 2022, include reinforcement of the bridge supports, replacement of the central mall and relocation of the lighting.

The latest $43.7-million contract was awarded to carry out work that will continue into 2025, which includes beam and slab repairs, installation of a waterproofing membrane, asphalt replacement and other related work.

Reinforcement work on the bridge was carried out between December 2022 and September 2023.

“The bridge will not be back to full capacity with three lanes of traffic in each direction by the time the new bridge is fully commissioned,” said Bensadoun.

The Transport Ministry’s objective now is to maintain five lanes of traffic, including three lanes in the direction of peak traffic.

Three eastbound lanes are now open during the morning rush hour towards Montreal from 4 a.m. until 11 a.m. and three westbound lanes towards Vaudreuil-Dorion are open during the afternoons and evenings, from 1 p.m. until 2 a.m. the following morning.

As for future lane closures for maintenance work, Bensadoun said the procedure will be to close one lane if necessary during the off-peak traffic hours when necessary.

“This means during evenings, nights and weekends,” she specified. “Most of the time it should be during these times unless we have another emergency situation.”

And this will be on an ongoing basis.

“We will have lane closures on the bridge until 2026,” Bensadoun said.

Transport Quebec will provide information and updates about upcoming lane closures on the span on its website before they occur.