Turcot traffic torment as closures come to Decarie

CTV Montreal: New closures at Turcot New closures around the Turcot Interchange are expected to tie up traffic for the entire summer, Transport Quebec warns.

The newest phase of construction on the Turcot Interchange started on Monday and officials are warning Montreal’s drivers they’re going to need to be patient.

Those closures will remain in place until fall.

Because of the closures, lanes coming onto the Expressway from Highway 20, the 15 and 720 will all merge into a single lane.

As the closures began on Monday morning, rush hour traffic backed up to the Champlain Bridge.

Among the areas that are expected to particularly hard hit is NDG, due to the closure of the Sherbrooke entrances and exits. Drivers going to the Decarie through NDG will have to take a detour on Edouard-Montpetit and those trying to exit will have to take the already heavily-trafficked Cote-St-Luc-Rd exit.

“In this area, there will be police and circulation lights have been reprogrammed to help reduce the impact on traffic,” said Transport Quebec spokesperson Martin Girard.

And soon, there may be yet another slowdown in the area, said CDN-NDG Mayor Sue Montgomery.

“Now we'll have a chance to redo Decarie and Sherbrooke where it's really like a warzone there it's so bumpy,” she said, adding that she understands the frustration, but that Transport Quebec insists it’s necessary to complete the Turcot Interchange by its 2020 deadline.

“We're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't. If we don't fix them, people are mad and if we fix them, people are mad,” said Montgomery.

Transport Quebec recommends frustrated drivers look into carpooling and planning their routes well ahead of time.

The agency is recommending South Shore drivers avoid Highway 15 altogether and use the Victoria Bridge instead.