The closing of two major access ramps to the Turcot Interchange on Friday night and Saturday caused plenty of headaches for Montreal's drivers, a situation that could continue for the forseeable future.

The closures marked the beginning of the end for Highway 720.

Transport Quebec closed the connection from Highway 20 East toward downtown at 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Meanwhile the ramp from the Southbound Decarie Expressway will be closed from 10 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Monday

Route 136 opens Monday

As of Monday Nov. 21, drivers heading into the downtown core will be using the freshly-built Route 136.

That means drivers heading south on the Decarie Expressway and those coming east on Highway 20 will merge at the beginning of the eastbound Route 136.

Route 136 is a two-lane road that runs parallel to and partially underneath the elevated Ville Marie Expressway. Route 136 will eventually be widened with extra lanes, but not for several years.

Drivers will be able to access the Atwater Exit before entering the Ville Marie Tunnel.

Transport Quebec does not expect this to be smooth sailing. It is predicting traffic jams will back up to the Ville St. Pierre Interchange because the new eastbound highway has fewer lanes.

"We are reducing capacity by 50%. We are anticipating congestion," said Sarah Bensadoun of Transport Quebec.

"It will have an impact on their daily itineraries."

Winter of weekend closures

The work to dismantle the eastbound lanes of the Ville Marie will last three or four months.

Demolition and construction work will take place from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays, and from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. on weekends, while cleaning work will take place at all hours.

The work to demolish the elevated highway will also require 12 to 15 weeks of weekend closures of everything from the Turcot to the Ville Marie Tunnel, with that work expected to begin the weekend of Dec. 2.

Residents living near the Ville Marie have been told that crews will install walls, if necessary, to reduce the noise coming from the demolition.

In order to control dust crews will also be spraying water or snow around the worksites.

Transport Quebec is urging drivers to take public transportation to get around, and is spending tens of millions of dollars to buy new buses and add extra service to bus lines across Montreal.