The common refrain has surfaced again: motorists, beware of traffic this weekend.

Here is a partial list of closures. A full list can be found on the Transport Quebec website.

  • Highway 20 will be closed in both directions from 11:30 p.m. Friday night to 5:00 a.m. Monday morning between the St. Jacques exit and the entrance from Aut-138.
  • Rte-138 will also be closed in the eastbound direction.
  • Maintenance work will also close the ramp leading from Highway 15 southbound to Aut-720 eastbound on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
  • Several bridges will also be backed up, as the both the Champlain and Louis-Bisson bridges will have two of three lanes closed each, while the Victoria Bridge will be closed entirely from Friday night to Monday morning.
  • Compounding the traffic will be the Montreal Marathon, which will be held on Sunday. That will see the Jacques Cartier Bridge closed in both directions from 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. as well as several detours along the race’s route.The annual Montreal Marathon will shut down the Jacques Cartier Bridge in both directions for several hours on Sunday. (Map via Rock'N Roll Marathon)

Traffic expert Rick Leckner said traffic has reached an almost unprecedented level.

"I haven't seen it to the extent that it is now, where there's not only such a concentrated amount of traffic, but just so much going on in so many places at the same time," he said. "It's the worst I've ever seen it."

He added that what's worse is the roadwork isn't adding new lanes, just repairing crumbling roads.

"People still like to drive their vehicles themselves, carpooling is still not being used anywhere near to the maximum it should be," he said.

However, there is some good news on the roadwork front. Work on St. Denis St., which has been ongoing since last year, causing many businesses to complain, will be finished on Monday, one month ahead of schedule.

One of the affected businesses is restaurant L'Academie. Once bustling with lineups out the door, employee Tony Arvanitis said the bistro was barely hanging on during the construction.

"There were days when we weren't sure if we could stay open or not, but now that it's reopened, we're just hoping for the best," he said. "We just don't know how we're going to bring it back."