Motorists using the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel will have to be patient since the construction work currently underway will be at least a year late.
• Read also: Resumption of work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel
The closures linked to the work will continue until fall 2026. They affect three out of six lanes.
“Due to additional interventions to be carried out on the ventilation towers and a delay in the execution of the work in the first circulation tube, the end of the project is postponed by one year,” explained the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility by press release on Friday.
According to the new schedule, the change of tube to carry out the work on the northern direction could take place during the spring of 2025. The opening of the two tunnel tubes is planned for the fall of 2026.
“Completion work requiring partial closures will then be carried out until 2027,” acknowledged the ministry.
The repair of the slabs of Highway 25 and the Souligny interchange is the only element that meets the planned deadlines and should be completed in the fall of 2025.
The complexity of the work mentioned
According to the ministry, several challenges surround this work, particularly with regard to the ventilation towers, inspections of which revealed that they were more damaged than anticipated.
The covering must also be completely redone, “which includes in particular the design, manufacture and installation of 128 mobile panels and 32 parts making up the wind shields”.
“In the southbound tube, the execution time results in particular from the breakdown of equipment used to concrete the tunnel vault, which required the adjustment of all the formwork tools in a preventive manner,” justified the ministry.
Issues of availability of specialized labor and periods of work stoppages due to incidents such as mold were also cited.
This is the first major repair of the tunnel in 60 years. Work began on October 31, 2022.
