After inspections revealed severe damage to the infrastructure, Transport Quebec yesterday closed one lane of the two-lane southbound ramp that connects the Décarie (Highway 15) to the Turcot Interchange indefinitely.
The stretch of road is used by about 31,000 cars daily, many travelling from Décarie to the Champlain Bridge.
The one-kilometre section of the ramp reduced to one lane runs between the falaise St. Jacques in Notre Dame de Grâce and an area just south of the Lachine Canal.
At its highest point, the ramp is about 100 feet in the air.
Transport Quebec was urged to immediately close the lane yesterday afternoon by the engineering firms maintaining and monitoring the 43-year-old interchange, said Mario St. Pierre, a Transport Quebec spokesperson.
News of the emergency lane closing comes as Transport Minister Julie Boulet and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay continue to tussle over the best way to replace the aging structure.
St. Pierre said inspections revealed "degradation in the concrete" in the horizontal structure under the asphalt. "You can't see it from the outside," he said. The problem does not extend across the entire length of the closed ramp. "Only a certain portion of it is faulty, about halfway" across the ramp, he said.
Engineers say the structure is safe for a single lane in the middle of the ramp. "The central lane is directly on top of the pillars, so this is the strongest portion of the structure," St. Pierre said.
No problems were discovered on the northbound ramp.
When will the second southbound lane reopen?
"We don't know how long repairs will last because we don't know what repairs we will have to do and how we will do them," St. Pierre said.
Transport Quebec expects the lane closing to cause major traffic bottlenecks.
The affected ramp is used by 1,900 cars hourly during morning rush hour and 2,500 cars in afternoon rush hour.
St. Pierre urged motorists to use public transit, carpool or change routes or commuting hours if possible. "We're advising people to stay away," he said. He said motorists who normally take Décarie to reach the Champlain Bridge should consider another link to the South Shore or another route to the Champlain.
Quebec is working on plans to tear down and rebuild the interchange and other parts of what's known as the Turcot Complex. The complex includes the Turcot - where Highways 15, 20 and 720 converge - plus the Montreal West, Angrignon and de la Vérendrye interchanges.
The entire complex is used by about 290,000 cars daily
After years of planning, Quebec and Montreal can't agree on the new Turcot.
Montreal put forward a new vision of the highway system last week that would cut car capacity and boost public transit. Quebec has said Montreal's plan comes too late and is too expensive, at $6 billion. Quebec's plan would cost $2.5 billion.
Quebec has given Montreal a detailed cost estimate of the city's proposal, Tremblay spokesperson Darren Becker said. He said the city was not ready to comment on the estimate yesterday as the figures were being examined.
Last week, Quebec said it wants construction to start on the new Turcot this fall and be completed by 2017.
The sudden Turcot lane closing will probably exacerbate Quebec motorists' wariness of the province's crumbling road infrastructure.
In 2006, the de la Concorde overpass collapsed in Laval, killing five people.
In the aftermath of that disaster, sections of several highways were closed because of deteriorating support structures, and aging overpass pillars were found to have insufficient steel reinforcement.
Montreal motorists have long been concerned about the safety of the Turcot, with its decaying concrete and exposed reinforcement steel.
The Turcot was part of a flurry of road building to prepare for Expo 67. The $25-million Turcot Interchange opened on April 25, 1967, two days before Montreal welcomed the world to Expo.
7 comments:
I can remember all too well the old traffic grief on the Decarie, & that was many decades ago. I can just imagine what it's like now. HF&RV
Forty-Three years of winter's cold and Spring's thawing,plus all the corrision done by whatever they dump on the roadway during winter has to have taken it's toll on this structure.Over the last two months I have had to drive my wife's brother-in-law to the Montreal Heart Institute at least four times. In each instance I have gotten stuck in the traffic congestion coming in from Ontario. When you see the condition of some of the cement pillars holding up the roadway it scares the crap out of you. It will take some deaths from collapsing roads / pillars before the buffoons in Montreal and Quebec get their act together.
Your right George, but I think the Quebec Govt is a little nervous ever since the collapse of the PieIX overpass or was that the Pont Viau ? I think 4 people were killed there. Oddly enough,I am sure that there is a contracted highway maintenance gang ,that should have been doing preventative maintenance all these years,but most likely they were being paid & not really doing anything.Perhaps this will (or is being used) to speed up the Turcot Project one way or the other.
George don't you live in Ontario,? Do you at least get to have a Smoked Meat while your in Montreal or some Steamie ... Cheers ! HF&RV
Here's the one I was thinking of:here's part of the story:
"I was wondering ... what is happening," he said. "As we went down with the bridge, my first words were to say 'Anne-Marie,' the name of my girlfriend. We went down, falling with the bridge. It was all dark."
The vehicle crashed into the debris below, landing on the passenger side window. The two crawled out a window, waiting for a few minutes in a police car for an ambulance to arrive and take them to the hospital.
Hotte suffered minor injuries and was released after X-rays. His girlfriend remained in the hospital in stable condition on Sunday with some internal bleeding, Hotte said.
It was the second serious overpass collapse in Laval in the last six years.
In 2000, a man died when a section of overpass that had been under construction for six months collapsed and eight 70-ton beams fell on the car he was riding in.
A coroner's report later concluded a construction company did not properly secure the concrete beams, and accused the province's construction industry of shoddy work and questionable corporate practices
For the whole story, here's the link,for anyone who wants to read it:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216926,00.html
HF&RV
YIKES !! Have a Look At what could happen if the Quebec Roads aren't looked at & fixed right away.This site has photos of bridge collapses around the world.but first Imagine if this baby crumbles;
http://www.greatdreams.com/bridges/bridges.htm
HF&RV
George don't you live in Ontario,? Do you at least get to have a Smoked Meat while your in Montreal
Hi Les'
I do indeed live in Ontario, about a two hour car drive from Montreal / Verdun. Each time I take my wife's brother-in-law to the Heart Institute we end up at a resturant called Paulos, on Sherbrooke St East to have a smoke meat platter. We usually end up buying a pound or two to bring back to our homes,as well.
Wow that's great living so close to Montreal ,that it's only a drive away... I Remember those days living in Montreal & being able to be in a city in any direction within a half days drive..
Can't do that here in the garden city,.it's a chore to get to the Ferry, then the Ferry ride to the mainland (albeit a scenic ride) and then from there to wherever leads up to a long day to get 100 miles from home.............hahahahha Now back to the Montreal visit's ,if your in Montreal & Remember 'Magnon's Tavern' they used to have great roast beef & steaks, However those days have passed, But : They do have a fantastic 'Pepper Sauce' you can buy as take out.......Try it (if you haven't yet) & I think you will enjoy it.............. HF&RV
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