Summer roadwork ahead: A guide to navigating detours and bridge closures

Warmer, sunnier times are nearly here (hopefully), and that means construction season is too.

The new Samuel De Champlain Bridge will officially open in June, but that doesn't mean an end to Montreal's summer traffic woes.

There will be closures along the Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Honoré Mercier Bridge for repaving and concrete repairs.

There will also be a period of weekend blitzes on parts of the Bonaventure Expressway, making for a laundry list of summer detours and spots to avoid.

Here's a breakdown of what's coming.

Champlain Bridge

The new Samuel De Champlain Bridge is slated to open in June and deconstruction work on the old one will start in 2020.

The consortium responsible for the bridge said it would be dismantled over a three-year period according to a "sustainable development approach."

In a news release, the group said that it would attempt to reuse as many salvageable materials as possible from the 3.4-km structure, considered one of Canada's busiest bridges with roughly 50 million crossings yearly.

The consortium said that the structure, inaugurated in 1962, "cannot be maintained due to design and drainage problems that caused premature deterioration from corrosion."

Once the old bridge is taken down, space will be freed up for "recreation, commemoration and tourism."

Jacques Cartier Bridge

During the summer, the Jacques Cartier Bridge is slated to undergo several major projects, from steel reinforcement, to concrete repairs, and the levelling and repaving of the entire bridge and its approaches.

The levelling and repaving will start in June, with work being done during blitzes from Sunday to Tuesday during construction holiday and one weekend in August.

There will be significant lane reductions and closures of the Parc Jean-Drapeau access ramps during the work.

Drivers should plan for:

• Weekend blitz from May 4 to 5, (1 lane open both directions).
• Complete closure of Parc Jean-Drapeau access ramp toward Montreal.
• Three weekend blitzes for preparatory work (June 22-23, 29-30 and July 6-7).
• Two blitzes from Sunday to Tuesday, July 21-23 and 28-30 (1 lane open in both directions).
• Complete closure of Parc Jean-Drapeau access ramp toward South Shore (July 21-23).
• Complete closure of Parc Jean-Drapeau access ramp toward Montreal (July 28-20).
• Weekend blitz August 10-11 (1 lane open per direction).
• Periodic closures of the approaches in August to finalize work.
• Complete closure of staircase on the side of the multipurpose path in Longueuil from July to November.

Bonaventure Expressway

Repaving work on the Bonaventure Expressway will take place during weekend blitzes in the summer, though the consortium hasn't released exact dates.

The news release outlines night closures of Highway 10 East toward the new Champlain Bridge, plus the complete closure of Exit 2 (Pierre-Dupuy Ave) for eight weeks for concrete repairs.

It also lists night closures for paving, but doesn't specify when during the summer it will take place:

• 10 complete night closures of exit ramp to Hwy 10 East toward the Champlain Bridge.
• 10 complete night closures of access ramp to Hwy 10 West toward Montreal.

Honoré Mercier Bridge

Work is slated to be done on the Mercier Bridge as well, including reinforcement to piers, painting of the steel structure and construction of an inspection platform.

Drivers will have to adjust their plans for five complete night closures of the bridge in one direction, and 12 complete night closures of some access ramps. It's not clear what nights the work will be done during the summer.