Summer roadwork is often a nightmare, but this season promises to be particularly scary for commuters to and from the South Shore.

A multitude of construction projects will take place on the three most-used South Shore spans during the summer of 2015.

Most of the work on the Champlain Bridge will take place in May and October, while work on the Mercier will run from June until August.

The Jacques Cartier Bridge gets off easy this year, needing not much more than a fresh coat of paint.

Champlain Construction

The Champlain Bridge is nearing the end of its lifespan but necessary work has to be done so it can be used until its replacement is built, supposedly by 2018.

In May work will be done on the expansion joists and revamping the viaduct leading to the Bonaventure Expressway.

Friday May 1, 9 p.m. to Monday May 4, 5 a.m.

  • Northbound side of Champlain bridge closed
  • One lane open in each direction
  • Closure of Highway 10 between Exits 4 and 6
  • Closure of Exit 58 on Highway 15 North
  • Closure of access ramps on Highway 132 East and West
  • Closure of Alexander Bell ramp toward Highway 10 West (8 p.m.)
  • Closure of Claude Robutel ramp toward Highway 10 West (8 p.m.)

Friday May 15, 9 p.m. to Tuesday May 19, 3 a.m.

  • Southbound side of Champlain bridge closed
  • One lane open in each direction
  • Counterflow lanes open between Atwater and Wellington Exits
  • Closure of Highway 10 between Exits 4 and 6
  • Closure of Atwater ramp to Highway 15 South
  • Closure of Exit 58 on Highway 15 North
  • Closure of access ramps on Highway 132 East and West
  • Closure of Alexander Bell ramp toward Highway 10 West (8 p.m.)
  • Closure of Claude Robutel ramp toward Highway 10 West (8 p.m.)

In October construction crews will add support structures underneath the bridge deck.

“A lot of the deterioration is hidden,” said Glenn P. Carlin of the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridge Corp. “We can't see what's happening inside but what we can do is see how the beams are behaving inside.”

Authorities insist the existing bridge remains safe.

“We're inspecting the bridge by monitoring,” said Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Corp. Steve Tsalios. “We have monitoring on all our outside beams on real time 24/7,  so we're able to see the behaviour of each beam as the traffic goes  on from day to day.”

Jacques Cartier Repair

The Jacques Cartier is also undergoing major repair work.

  • The structure over the St. Lawrence Seaway is being sandblasted and repainted to prevent rusting.
  • The underneath of the bridge will be reinforced to bring it up to 2015 bridge code.

Mercier Construction

  • Concrete deck over St. Lawrence Seaway will be replaced over eight weeks from June 20 until August 17
  • Only one lane will be open in each direction at all times.
  • Trucks will be banned during morning and evening rush hour. (5 a.m. to 9 a.m., 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.)