If you commute between Montreal and the South Shore, you already know: this has been a rough week on the Honoré-Mercier Bridge. After a crack was discovered in a steel beam during maintenance work, Quebec’s Transport Ministry closed the left Montreal-bound lane on Tuesday, and traffic quickly turned into a mess. Now, repairs are happening this weekend, and the crack has reignited a much bigger debate: should Quebec stop patching the 92-year-old bridge and build a new one?
This Weekend: What Drivers Need to Know
- When: From Saturday at 3 a.m. until Monday at 5 a.m.
- What: Repairs to the cracked beam, with only one lane open in each direction during the work.
- Heads up: The ministry says the work could be extended or cancelled depending on weather or operational constraints, and congestion is expected. Allow extra time, or avoid the area if you can (CBC).
A Bridge Under Pressure
The Mercier Bridge first opened to traffic in June 1934, and today it carries an average of 76,000 vehicles a day. According to CBC News, the Transport Ministry has spent $125 million on repairs since 2017, and decades of heavy traffic and weather-driven corrosion have taken their toll.
ÉTS structural engineering professor Lotfi Guizani told CBC that the choice comes down to cost: when maintenance gets expensive enough, building new becomes the option. But it wouldn’t be quick or cheap. He estimates a new bridge would take at least seven years and cost billions, potentially more than the $4.2 billion spent on the new Champlain Bridge. He even floated tolls as one way to finance it.
South Shore Mayors: “One Crisis After Another”
Local leaders say the time for patchwork is over. Châteauguay Mayor Éric Allard said the closure makes the question of a new bridge more and more important. Mercier Mayor Lise Michaud, also prefect of the MRC de Roussillon, said residents can no longer settle for repairs, lane closures and managing one crisis after another, and called for more transparency and better coordination.
In Kahnawà:ke, Grand Chief Cody Diabo said the community bears a disproportionate share of the impact when traffic is diverted onto local roads, warning that residents’ safety is at risk, and called for Kahnawà:ke to have a meaningful role in regional transportation planning.
So, What’s the Plan?
For now, the province is focused on fixing the damaged beam and getting traffic back to normal. The ministry says reconstruction of the existing South Shore-bound structure is in the early planning stages, with more studies needed before costs and timelines can be set. As a ministry spokesperson put it, they’re “really at the very start” of the process.
Between the bridge, the coming snow season (see our look at Montreal’s $15.8M winter plan) and road work everywhere, getting around this fall is going to take patience. Stay on top of it with MTL365 News. Bonne route!
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Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources: CBC News, CBC News (weekend work)
