Turcot work to force closure of Highway 20 and 15 North for five days
During weekdays, Transports Quebec advises commuters to work from home if possible
The work that will cause three highway closures in the Turcot Interchange this weekend is 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 the height of the structure being dismantled — 25 metres — as well as its placement above Highway 20 and an active Canadian National Rail corridor, according to Olivier Beaulieu, the deputy project director for KPH-Turcot.
Beaulieu said a steel plate has been installed above the railroad and highway to protect them from debris as the 100-metre stretch of the Turcot is taken apart.
For drivers, here's what it all means:
- If you're heading west on the Ville-Marie Expressway, 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 the South Shore/Verdun along Highway 15, you won't be able to continue on toward the Décarie Expressway from Friday night until Monday morning.
The closures are exceptional because Highway 20 will be closed on weekdays, said Transports Québec spokesperson Martin Girard.
He said that people should work from home if possible. The ministry is also advising people to use public transit, work from home and avoid non-essential trips.
"If people don't listen to this, we're talking about probably eight to 10 kilometres of congestion," added Sylvie Gervais, traffic manager for KPH-Turcot.
Among the mitigation measures, the ministry is offering free rides on the Exo1 Vaudreuil-Hudson and Exo4 Candiac trains.
The Exo1 Vaudreuil-Hudson train line will have an additional 14 off-peak departures, with stops at Dorval, Vendôme and Lucien-L'Allier stations only.
With files from CBC's Jay Turnbull