While the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (MTMD) intends to accelerate construction of the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge wherever possible, it has no plans to inaugurate the new structure any earlier than planned.

"The project has already been accelerated by 18 months, since it was targeted by the Act respecting the acceleration of certain infrastructure projects. For the time being, there are no further acceleration measures planned. That said, that doesn't mean there won't be changes to the schedule, given that this is a fairly major project," MTMD spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun confirmed to Neomedia.

For her part, Jeanne Turbide, political attaché for Soulanges MNA Marilyne Picard, indicated by e-mail: "Following a directive from the Ministère du Transport et de la Mobilité durable to the contractor, construction work on the new bridge, which has already begun, should be stepped up in the coming weeks as much as possible. Especially as the holiday season is fast approaching.

To date, several interventions have been undertaken on the site of the future infrastructure. "Reconstruction work has begun, but commissioning is still scheduled for 2026 for the first structure and 2027 for the second," added Ms. Bensadoun.

Apart from mobilizing the site and connecting it to municipal infrastructures, deforestation and geotechnical drilling have been carried out, in addition to the installation of test piles to obtain soil information.

"Follow-up is carried out quite closely by the Ministry, with the consortium responsible for the work. So there's always a review to see if we can optimize the worksite to save a little time," says the MTMD spokeswoman.

Highway 20

Requested for years, the Highway 20 bypass in Vaudreuil-Dorion is still not part of the MTMD's plans. 

In a telephone interview last Friday, Vaudreuil-Dorion mayor Guy Pilon hinted that questions to this effect had been put to MTMD teams at a technical meeting a few hours before the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge was closed. 

"I certainly asked the question. We know that the work on the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge will take at least a year, so I think it would be an ideal time to start the work. I've hit the nail on the head and I hope it will get things moving," he told Néomédia.

That said, the MTMD has indicated that the project is on track. "The first stage, the needs study, has been completed. The study of solutions will begin shortly. Once completed, discussions will be held with our partners on the progress of this project. At the moment, I can't say how the project will unfold," concludes Sarah Bensadoun.

The new bridge will be commissioned progressively in the following order:

End of 2026 - Commissioning of a first structure (five lanes available with dynamic management in the peak direction).
End of 2027 - Commissioning of the second structure (six lanes available, i.e. three lanes on each of the two open structures).
End of 2028 - Completion of the multi-purpose track.
2029 - End of deconstruction of existing bridge.
2030 - End of construction work.