“My mother told me that even in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue we can see long lines, unfortunately.”
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Commenting on the situation with the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge at a Montreal news conference Friday, Premier François Legault, who grew up in Ste-Anne-Bellevue, said he understands the frustration being felt by motorists.
Many commuters and merchants are livid the main connection to municipalities west of the island will be closed this weekend during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations being held Saturday west of the island and the St. Patrick’s Parade Sunday in Montreal.
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“I still have my family in St-Lazare or in Ste-Anne,” Legault told reporters Friday. “They talk to me about it. Unfortunately, you cannot have a perfect solution. The reconstruction of the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge should have been done a long time ago.
“Unfortunately, during the reconstruction … it will continue bringing important delays in getting around the island. My mother told me that even in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue we can see long lines, unfortunately.”
Traffic on the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge has been either dramatically reduced or closed altogether for safety reasons since last fall after cracks were detected on concrete support beams. Engineers have ordered the closing of multiple lanes to reduce weight on the ailing structure, leading to traffic backups as long as three hours for commuters trying to get on or off the island. On several weekends, the bridge has been completely closed to allow for repairs, with commuters forced to take the congested Highway 20, or Highway 30 that runs south of the island, as an alternative. A new bridge has been promised by the end of 2026.
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Quebec’s Transport ministry announced Friday morning the tolls on Highway 30 will be free on the weekend. But the Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge will remain closed.
Organizers of St. Patrick’s Day festivities in communities west of Montreal were stunned by the last-minute announcement this week the span will be blocked from Friday night to Monday morning.
Not only will it put a damper on participants and spectators getting to the parade in Hudson on Saturday, Jay de la Durantaye, president of the Soulanges Irish Society that organizes the event, told the Montreal Gazette the blockage will also impede the sizable off-island Irish and anglophone communities from going downtown for the Montreal parade on Sunday — unless they want to endure a monster traffic jam. The two events are intended to coincide so musicians, dignitaries and celebrants can enjoy both.
The parade is a huge draw in Montreal, where more than to 200,000 people are expected to throng de Maisonneuve Blvd. on Sunday. But the St. Patrick’s Day celebration is also a big attraction in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. Hudson, population just over 5,000, swells to many times its size for the annual revelry. According to de la Durantaye, the Sûreté du Québec estimated there were 25,000 people lining the town’s Main St. last year.
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