Closures on Highway 40, Mercier bring morning traffic to a halt
Gridlock on multiple roads around the city during Friday morning commute
Drivers in the Montreal area were subject to major gridlock Friday morning after truck collisions to the east and west temporarily shut down eastbound lanes on Highway 40.
The Mercier Bridge, already restricted to one lane of traffic each way, was also completely closed for a police operation just as morning rush hour got into full swing.
The bridge reopened at around 8:50 a.m.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MercierBridge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MercierBridge</a> reopened in both directions
—@pontHMBridgeIn Vaudreuil-Dorion, Highway 40 eastbound was closed just before the Île Aux Tourtes Bridge at around 5:30 a.m. after a truck hit a viaduct.
This was the scene at about 7:25 on hwy 40 in Vaudreuil. A dump truck with it’s bin up smashed into the overpass. Will be reopening in a few minutes. <a href="https://t.co/Wrf7sgiyHO">pic.twitter.com/Wrf7sgiyHO</a>
—@TurnbullJayThe highway reopened at around 8:30 a.m.
That section of roadway, located between Highway 30 and Des Chenaux Road, was scheduled to open this morning at 5 a.m. after having been closed for a couple of days for repairs.
Transport Ministry spokesperson Mila Roi could not say if anyone was injured.
Repentigny crash causes delays
Highway 40 in Repentigny reopened just before 5 p.m., almost 12 hours after it closed due to a collision involving four trucks.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/A40?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#A40</a> est (Félix-Leclerc), à la hauteur du viaduc du chemin des Chenaux à Vaudreuil-Dorion, accident impliquant un véhicule lourd
—@Qc511_MtlEastbound motorists were detoured to the Industrial Boulevard exit to reconnect with the highway at Route 341.
The closure led to several kilometres of Montreal-bound congestion for most of the day.
Highway parking lot
Richard Dawson started his usually 45-minute commute to Lachine at just before 6 a.m. He ended up being stuck in traffic for more than two hours.
Dawson spoke with CBC from his impromptu parking spot as he attempted to access Highway 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion via a detour.
"We're just sitting here," he said at 8:20 a.m.
"I've moved about 100, maybe 200 metres in the past hour. I'll stop the car, put on the parking brake, turn off the car for 15-20 minutes at a time and just sit here."
