Commuters in Montreal's West End seem to be easily coming to grips with having yet another roadway denied to them.
Over the weekend St. Jacques St. was closed to eastbound traffic from Decarie Blvd. to Girourd Ave., although local traffic is allowed to head west over the bridge that crosses the Decarie Expressway.
Even that limited traffic flow will be cut off at some point later this year.
Eleven Montreal police officers were on the scene Monday morning to assist in directing drivers, and are scheduled to be at the key intersections until drivers adjust to the new route.
They ended up being very bored since it seemed many commuters avoided the area entirely and found a different route into town.
It remain to be seen if the afternoon commuter rush will be similar, but Cote des Neiges/Notre Dame de Grace borough mayor Russell Copeman said alterations will be made if necessary.
"Once the MUHC is open it's going to become even more challenging. You know the adult pavilion opens at the end of April and then we go into full operations in the fall," said Copeman.
"We'll make all adjustments we can, whether it's timing of lights or other detours and police presence. We'll do whatever we can to make this area as fluid as possible under the circumstances."
Construction crews are undertaking two major projects: vastly improving the capacity of a sewage collector underneath St. Jacques St.; and lowering the St. Jacques St. bridge by one metre as part of the Turcot Interchange reconstruction.
While the work continues for the next two-and-a-half years, drivers are being advised to detour via Upper Lachine Rd., one block to the north.
Reserved bus lanes have been added to that street for users of the 90 and 420 Express bus routes.
It's not known how smoothly traffic will flow once the MUHC superhospital opens to the public in the weeks to come.
