The slowdown began around 7:20 a.m. Saturday near the Pierre Laporte Bridge on the Quebec side.
At 9 a.m., a Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) employee who was monitoring the situation on site advised Le Soleil to take the Quebec Bridge. According to him, crossing the Pont-Pierre Laporte would take an hour.
Three out of six lanes on the Pierre Laporte Bridge will be closed to traffic throughout the weekend. Only one lane is open to the south and two lanes are open to the north.
As the morning progressed, the situation worsened. “We have a lot of traffic jams on Henri-IV southbound,” Émilie Lord, spokeswoman for Quebec’s transport ministry, said around 10:30 a.m.
At this point the traffic jam extended to the Quatre-Bourgeois exit. It also began to be felt on the Duplessis Highway.
“Crossing the bridge is definitely difficult. “A lot of people are really moving to the south coast,” says the MTQ spokesman.
According to the employee the Sun met on site, the traffic jam would peak late Saturday afternoon.
Worse than the first weekend
During the final phase of work on the Risi Bridge, there were fewer traffic jams than expected and several motorists chose to avoid the area. This was not the case on Saturday morning.
“It is certain that we noticed a lot more traffic jams today than on the first working Saturday,” says Émilie Lord.
While there was a slowdown in the first phase of work on the south bank, it was the north bank that suffered on Saturday.
“People have decided to walk more at the end of the week, that’s for sure,” says the spokesman.
“Avoid the area”
Émilie Lord recommends drivers not to drive on the Pierre Laporte Bridge.
She asks them instead to take the Quebec Bridge, where traffic was moving Saturday morning. The ferry service, which has been improved for this occasion, is also a good alternative solution.
“Make sure you pack gas so you don’t run out of gas during the crossing,” reminds Ms. Lord.