Bad news for users of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge: the discovery of a new crack forces the closure of a Montreal-bound lane indefinitely.
Posted at 8:47 p.m.
The two-lane configuration in each direction that already existed at the weekend will therefore be retained on Monday in order to carry out analyses, the Ministry of Transport announced on Friday evening.
“This will determine whether further intervention is necessary. “It cannot currently be ruled out that further lanes will have to be closed,” it says.
The observation of this crack on the Montreal side came as part of regular monitoring at a time when the ministry said it was “particularly vigilant” due to the first episodes of frost.
Measures to strengthen this bridge, described as “at the end of its life” and connecting Senneville and Vaudreuil-Dorion, were already underway, with concrete work planned for this weekend.
The ministry says the structure remains “safe” and that it would not hesitate to close it if it were no longer the case.
Maintenance program
The Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge is the subject of a maintenance program that includes works and inspections until the official inauguration of its replacement.
But the “gradual” commissioning of this new bridge, which must be built north of the current infrastructure, will only begin in 2026 and be completed in 2029, according to Transport Minister Geneviève. Guilbault, in a press release last February1.
The news of the indefinite closure of a lane on the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge is a hard blow for users who have already experienced this scenario in the past.
In fact, as of autumn 2022, a year after the emergency closure of the infrastructure due to damaged rebars, the Ministry of Transport declared “the progression of certain cracks” on a box girder on the north side of the bridge towards Vaudreuil-Dorion.
A major project was then launched that forced the closure of two lanes, including one for the safety of workers and flaggers. This final route finally reopened in September last year2.