More traffic problems looming for Montrealers

Think Montreal’s traffic situation is bad now?

According to a new report, it could get a whole lot worse during the reconstruction of the Turcot interchange. The QMI news service is reporting that half the lanes on the Ville Marie expressway will have to be shut down for 16 months.

The closure could create a traffic catastrophe for Montreal motorists, as the highway is used by one hundred and seventy thousand vehicles every day.

Government officials have been promising to minimize the reconstruction’s impact on traffic.They plan to build the new roads next to the old ones, allowing cars to still zoom by during construction.

But according to the report, the eastbound section of the Ville Marie is too close to a cliff to use that method. Instead, motorists traveling in opposite directions will have to share the westbound side while the eastbound lanes are rebuilt.

The Turcot reconstruction is expected to begin next year and last until 2018.