Easter break | Areas to avoid on the roads during the long weekend

The Papineau-Leblanc and Laviolette bridges should be avoided during the long Easter holiday, due to traffic obstructions. On the island of Montreal, Papineau Avenue and Saint-Jacques Street are also likely to be congested at times.

This was indicated on Wednesday by the Mobilité Montréal committee, responsible for coordinating major works in the metropolitan region and its surroundings.

Between Laval and Montreal, first, the Papineau-Leblanc bridge will once again have to be completely closed, this time from Thursday to Monday evening, while major work continues on the infrastructure.

Motorists will have to take the Pie-IX or Viau bridges, while truckers will have to take Highway 440. Towards the south, users are advised to opt for the Pie-IX bridge or the Médéric-Martin bridge, which will be also open all weekend.

In Centre-du-Québec, two of the four lanes of the Laviolette bridge linking Trois-Rivières will also be closed from Friday to Monday evening.

Users arriving from Montreal or Quebec “are invited to plan their trips accordingly if they wish to go from one side of the St. Lawrence River to the other, via highways 20 or 40,” indicates Mobilité Montréal.

On the island of Montreal, contraflow traffic will be in place on Avenue Papineau, between Boulevard René-Lévesque and Rue Sainte-Rose, throughout the day on Friday. Only one lane per direction will therefore be available.

It will be the same principle on rue Saint-Jacques, between rue Mansfield and boulevard Robert-Bourassa, but for the days of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Mansfield Street also risks being blocked between Saint-Jacques and Saint-Antoine streets due to telecommunications work carried out by Bell.

In the west, the reconstruction work on the Highway 520 overpasses over Hickmore Street, which resumed on March 25, also risks causing congestion. This project is expected to continue until the end of 2024.

Notice to users of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM): the latter will be exceptionally unavailable this Saturday between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. due to a systems update. Shuttles will be set up to ensure connections between the stations during this period.

The major work planned at Lucien-L’Allier station must also be launched from next Monday. The vast project will result in the closure of the terminus of three major commuter train lines, in downtown Montreal, for 6 to 12 months.

More clearly, users of line 11-Vaudreuil-Hudson – the busiest in the network – will not be able to disembark or board at Lucien-L’Allier station for approximately six months from 1^er april. For lines 12-Saint-Jérôme and 14-Candiac, the closure will be extended over a period of an entire year.