The first morning of the partial closure of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel went relatively well with very fluid traffic. Situation due to Halloween Monday.
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“It’s going very well, but that doesn’t mean it will be the same tomorrow. There’s a lot of teleworking on Mondays and, in addition, it’s Halloween, there are parents who are with their children this afternoon,” explained Gilles Payer, spokesman for the Quebec (MTQ) Ministry of Transportation.
According to his explanations, at major construction sites that lead to a change in road configuration, a certain adaptation period of two or three weeks can be observed before the situation stabilizes.
“There are people who are nervous about this first day, telling themselves they will wait and see. Seeing things going well today, they will all be there tomorrow”, he exemplified.
The Sûreté du Québec also increased its workforce for the first day.
Photo QMI Agency, Joel Lemay
“Our police will be in the tunnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the next few weeks and at major alternative crossings such as the Jacques-Cartier and Champlain bridges. We will attend and keep an eye out for delinquent behavior,” warned Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau.
At MTQ, she also observed that the major hurdles were relatively quiet on this first day, due to reasons such as telework on Monday and Halloween.
“It might not be the best picture we’re going to have. Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll have a better idea of what’s going to happen in the next few weeks,” she predicted.
But the situation is being closely monitored. In the heart of downtown, in Vigor, several employees at Montreal’s Integrated Traffic Management Center (CIGC) are monitoring the situation. The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Genevieve Guilbault was also present on the first day.
Photo by QMI Agency, Félix Lacerte-Gauthier
When we were there, around 6 a.m. on a Monday, the situation was generally calm. Only a car that stopped briefly on the shoulder broke the shift while employees called responders to the field. But the driver left on his own before any intervention was necessary.
A quick shuttle ride
We were able to test out one of the shuttles to the South Shore this Monday morning.
From CIGC, we went to the Radisson Metro to use line 461, which goes to the Mortagne incentive parking lot, where SQ and MTQ representatives were waiting for the media.
The journey took about twenty minutes. Although Highway 25 southbound was congested, the bus used a dedicated lane that allowed it to go directly to the tunnel entrance, bypassing traffic.
The return journey was even quicker as the bus arrived at the Radisson Metro in about twelve minutes.
Several exo and STM employees are also present at both terminals to direct customers to the correct boarding platform.
On the site, many users expressed their satisfaction.
Yvon Demers tried the shuttle for the first time. An experience he hopes to repeat.
“It’s good, but I have to say there’s no traffic. It was just as fast in the car, but tomorrow that might change. I can feel the difference when there’s more traffic,” he commented.
For her part, Véronique uses the shuttle a few days a month, and since July, when she has to come to Montreal for work, she prefers buses to cars.
“It saves me stress, traffic and I don’t have to break my head. It’s also for speed,” she said.
Elliott Trudel, for his part, seems to be gaining popularity as the shuttle becomes more crowded.
“Since the tunnel is under construction, I take it almost all the time because it is much faster than using my car. It’s simple, it doesn’t cost me much. I just get on and I can read or be on my phone,” he explains.
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