MONTREAL - West Islanders are in for a tough commute home for the next several months as the Turcot Interchange linking the Ville Marie Expressway to Highway 20 shrinks to one lane heading west.
Engineers with Transport Quebec detected cracks in the concrete adding that the urgent repair project that may last for months.
Work began Saturday on the two-lane stretch of highway after both lanes were closed from midnight to noon for workers to post signs diverting traffic.
The lane will be closed between the Decarie Expressway and Cote St. Paul exits, a one-kilometre stretch of road.
Transport Quebec says the repairs could take two months or more,
Engineer Hellen Christodoulou, however, says it could take between six and nine months. She says the fact that the cracks weren't detected earlier is concerning.
"To me this implies a certain time gap of when they actually showed up and when they were actually noted," she said.
But Transportation Minister Sam Hamad insists there's no need for concern.
"We never put the security in danger for all people in Montreal," he said.
"We keep the security very important for us. We do inspections everyday on the Turcot infrastructure."
In the meantime, drivers are asked to detour via Highway 15 north to the Cote St-Luc Rd./Queen-Mary Rd. exit and to make a U-turn back toward the exchange via Highway 15 south.
As many as 300,000 vehicles travel through the Turcot Interchange daily.
