Westbound Honoré-Mercier Bridge Closed Indefinitely

[Dr Frankenstein]

The MTQ closed the westbound Mercier bridge (QC-138, built in 1934) from Montréal to Kahnawake/Châteauguay last night at 8 PM after they found out that a handful of gusset plates were severely corroded. The Eastbound bridge is still open, being about 25 years more recent (1960s). Those who were at the Montréal meet, we went on that now closed bridge.

With an AADT of about 70,000, it was already subject to serious traffic jams on rush hour. While the commuters going into Montréal this morning had no detour to take, the closure basically made A-20 clog in Montréal, causing the eastbound Mercier to back through almost all of Kahnawake, almost into Châteauguay.

It was announced this morning that the eastbound lanes will be reversible until the westbound bridge is opened again, in September. Thus, the bridge will be eastbound only from 1 AM to noon, and westbound only from 1 PM to midnight. Sort of like the Victoria bridge, but even more restrictive. The bridge will be a two-way two-laner on weekends. Expect jams.

The afternoon rush wasn't too bad once we were on the QC-138 expressway leading to the bridge, but since some entrances were still closed (for example the one in Saint-Pierre near Angrignon; and I wish I knew why, it's the one I take...), severe traffic jams occured on streets leading to QC-138, wasting 30-40 minutes.

Now, I wonder which bridge is/was worse. Champlain, Mercier, or the Lake Champlain bridge between Crown Point and Chimney Point (which NYSDOT decided to tear down and rebuild rather than fix)?

Articles:
http://pontmercierbridge.ca/eng/2011/06/temporary-closure-of-the-honore-mercier-bridge-by-the-mtq-westbound/
http://pontmercierbridge.ca/eng/2011/06/mtq-closure-june-15/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/06/15/mercier-westbound-closed.html
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Mercier+Bridge+restrictions+could+last+until+September+Quebec/4946849/story.html