Your commute home heading west from downtown will get much worse starting Monday.
Transport Quebec has issued a reminder about several closures in the Turcot Interchange that will last until 2019.
"This is the biggest phase of Turcot project," said Sylvie Gervais with Transport Quebec. "It impacts all the ramps, all the highways, so it will change a lot the habits of users."
You'll no longer be able to get on to the Ville Marie west from either the du Fort or Lucien l'Allier entrances and once on the Ville Marie westbound, you won't be able to get off at the St. Jacques exit.
A temporary entrance to the Ville Marie west will be open on St. Antoine near Rose-de-Lima in St. Henri.
There will also be lane closures in the areas around du Fort and Lucien l'Allier.
The entrance to Highway 20 west from Monk and Angrignon will also be shut down. Temporary access ramps will be open on De La Vérendrye and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Blvds.
"This will likely be the most disruptive phase of the Turcot Interchange," said traffic consultant Rick Leckner in an interview with CJAD 800 News.
"I think a lot of people will just avoid the Ville Marie for this lengthy period and it threatens to change the dynamics of downtown traffic completely."
What's worse, is the Ville Marie in both directions is scheduled to be shut down for 26 weekends during this time, and Sarah Bensadoun with the TQ says they won't know what closures that will entail until the week of.
"We advise the population on a weekly basis," says Bensadoun. "The teams reevaluate the progress on Monday and Tuesday so that's why we can only advertise closures 3 to 4 days prior."
NDG city councillor Peter McQueen said he and his counterparts in neighbouring cities and boroughs are bracing for more traffic in their streets.
"So there could be detoured traffic going through our streets in both directions. Completely unacceptable," said McQueen, who suggests a temporary plywood median in the new Highway 136 while they demolish the old Ville Marie and keep the eastbound lanes open.
"You're going to see the extra traffic on Ste Catherine, de Maisonneuve, in front of Vendome metro, on Sherbrooke, on Côte-St-Antoine, up on The Boulevard and of course down in St. Henri on St. Antoine St. and then also on St. Jacques if they do the weekend closure in the eastbound direction as well," said McQueen.
Click here for more information on the closures or click here to see your new route.
With files from Emily Campbell