Tunnel’s megasite: Every 15-minute wait costs a trucking company $100

The 15-minute truck journey between Sainte-Julie and Montreal via the bridge-tunnel took almost three times as long as Monday morning. None of this is good for consumers, who have to pay a hefty bill for these delays.

• Also Read: [EN VIDÉO] Follow the trucker’s journey through bridge hell

“It took two to three times longer to go to Montreal than I expected. To come back, it was faster than expected”, sums up TYT Group driver Denis Aclair, who made the morning journey. News magazineMonday.

“In addition to $100 in lost productivity every 15 minutes, an unserved customer and it puts a strain on our employees,” lamented his boss, TYT Group President Patrick Turcotte.

“The increase will unfortunately be passed on to consumers,” adds the man who heads a fleet of 125 trucks, 40 of which ply through the metropolis.

Usually, every delay rhymes with an increase in transportation cost, which increases the cost of goods.

“It’s an endless loop, the inflation rate is already too high,” laments Denise Aclair, the 28-year-old behind the tie.

• Listen to local journalist Louis-Philippe Messier on QUB Radio:

Hell is coming

Yesterday, at 6:15 a.m., our truck driver got used to the idea of ​​throwing himself into a wolf’s mouth.

To gauge the rush, he made an appointment Log In the dark of October, at Peterbilt Excellence Trucks in Sainte-Julie.

However, unable to land on Highway 20, the vehicle was forced to stop five minutes later, stuck at the height of Boulevard de Mortagne in Boucherville.

Back at the bridge-tunnel, everything went smoothly, much to his surprise.

“It must be because it’s Halloween and people are off,” our driver blurted out.

Reserved lanes

Arriving on the island at 6:45 a.m., there was a maze of twists and turns that required another 10-minute wait on rue Notre-Dame before Hunt reached the refrigerated container yard.

“The lanes reserved for buses near the port take us away from it to circulate. I’m afraid it will last forever after work,” Denis sighed, as the concert rush worsened.

In several cases, he pointed out cars with only one person in them, and even trucks in bus and carpool lanes.

In total, it takes 40 minutes to make the trip, but at normal times it can be easily avoided in just 15 minutes.

Fortunately, on the return trip, the traffic, far from the expected nightmare, didn’t eat up the five-minute timer.

For TYT Group number one Patrick Turcotte, there’s still time to pull together to avoid the announced disaster.

“We are open to solutions like weight lifting. We will try to bring some leads. We are looking for creative ideas,” he concluded.

• Every day, more than 120,000 vehicles, including 15,600 trucks, pass through the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, according to the Quebec government.