With Montreal and the federal government announcing their construction projects, the province of Quebec has presented its plan for roads and highways.
Quebec will spend $4.7 billion over the next two years on 2,139 worksites throughout the province.
Transportation Minister Jacques Daoust said ninety percent of the work is on maintaining existing highways and bridges.
About $1.4 billion will be spent in Montreal on various projects including the Turcot Interchange, and the massive changes planned for the Ville Marie Expressway.
Daoust said he understands as well as anyone the problems being caused by construction.
"I live on Nuns' Island, and to reach downtown from Nuns' Island, when you need two hours, it's longer than to go to Quebec City. That is not normal," said Daoust.
"We will have to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Transport and the city of Montreal to make sure that at the end of the day, the city is still breathing."
Beginning April 25, the number of lanes on the easternmost portion of Highway 720 will be reduced while crews prepare to cover the highway, with the aim of creating a new park.
That work is expected to take 19 months, and during that period only two lanes will be open in each direction.
Meanwhile at the western end of the Ville Marie, near the Turcot Intercharge, crews will close exits and preparing the highway for the location of the new Turcot Interchange. The current estimate is for this work to begin in October 2016.
Daoust said that about $650 million will be spent on construction in Laval, and that $1.3 billion is devoted to spending on highway safety.
The timeline for when each project begins and ends is not yet ready, but will be released in the weeks to come at www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca.
Quebec also provides updates for current projects at quebec511.info.
