half of the lanes closed for the next three years

The Ministry of Transport announced this morning the closure of three out of six lanes of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel for the next three years, from October 31, 2022 until November 2025. The tunnel will also be partially closed for the last two ends of fall weeks.

These long-term closures will take place as part of major tunnel rehabilitation work, which is due to be completed in 2026 and aims to avoid further major work for the next 40 years.

In order to limit the impact of the closures in this tunnel, which sees nearly 120,000 vehicles pass through per day, improvements to public transport services will be put in place to try to reduce crossings in the direction of the South Shore by 60%.

Five free shuttle lines crossing the tunnel will be put into service, as well as improved bus lines on the South Shore. In Montreal, transit passes will be offered free of charge at the Radisson metro station for six weeks to encourage people to use this alternative. A new bus line, the 872, will also depart from this station to serve the industrial sector of Longue-Pointe.

It is estimated that the route will be on average three times longer towards Montreal and four times longer towards the South Shore, compared to the average duration of 2021 before the start of work on the tunnel.

Weekend closings in October

The tunnel will also be closed in a northerly direction on the weekend of October 21 to 23. From October 28 to 30, the South direction will be blocked.

Following these two weekends of work, only one lane will remain open towards the South Shore, while two will be available towards Montreal.