La Fontaine tunnel, A-40 closures to slow Montreal weekend

Drivers entering and leaving Montreal face major closures this weekend: Highway 25, including the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, will be fully closed toward Montreal from Friday, Oct. 23, at 10 p.m. until Monday, Oct. 26, at 5 a.m., and Highway 40 will be shut in both directions at the western tip of the island.

Quebec’s Transport and Sustainable Mobility Ministry said in a news release that the northbound closure runs between exit 90 on the South Shore and the entrance from Sherbrooke Street. Entrances on that stretch close 30 minutes earlier. The ramp from Souligny Avenue eastbound will stay open during the day.

Highway 25 toward the South Shore, including the tunnel, will close overnight between exit 4 for downtown Montreal and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and the entrance from Île Charron. Those closures run Friday from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday, Saturday from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday, and Sunday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday. Souligny Avenue westbound will also close overnight Friday into Saturday for an inspection.

The ministry said crews will do maintenance and work on the tunnel’s electrical and communication systems, and repair parts damaged in collisions over the past year. The work could be postponed because of bad weather, and the ministry recommends checking Québec 511 before heading out.

In the West Island, Highway 40 in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Senneville will be closed in both directions at Anciens-Combattants Boulevard, from 10 p.m. eastbound and 11 p.m. westbound until noon on Sunday, La Presse reported. The Morgan Boulevard exit and access to the service road from Sainte-Marie Road and Frédéric-Back Street will also be closed.

“The Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge remains open. Where possible, the ministry recommends using Highway 20,” the ministry said, as quoted by La Presse (translated from French).

Drivers should also expect heavy congestion at the Des Laurentides interchange, where parts of the service roads for Highway 15 south and Highway 40 west will be closed all weekend, and one lane of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge toward the South Shore will be closed from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, La Presse reported. Repair work on the Saint-Pierre interchange on Highway 40 begins Monday.

The closures come as city services are also disrupted by a labour dispute. See our explainer on what the Montreal city professionals’ strike affects. More Montreal news is on our Montreal page.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.