Commuters to and from the South Shore are in for a two-month headache, as half the lanes on the Mercier Bridge will close for two months as of 10:00 p.m. on Friday.
Until Aug. 20, traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction due to construction.
The work will be conducted on the provincially-owned portion of the bridge, which is 30 years older than the federal side.
"There will be impact on traffic, we're not hiding it," said Transport Minister Andre Fortin.
The Airlie St. entrance to the bridge will also be closed, with drivers being detoured via Lafleur and Clement St. to gain access.
Officials said there will also be several weekends throughout the summer where the bridge will be shut down entirely.
The work has drawn the ire of Beauharnois Mayor Bruno Tremblay, who said he was given no advance notice which could have allowed him to find mitigation measures. As trucks will still be permitted to use the narrowed bridge, Tremblay estimated drivers could face up to two hours of traffic to cross the water.
"We had no information from the MTQ, nothing except the notice from last week. We have no direct communication, no mitigation to the situation," he said.
