If you're planning to drive anywhere in or around Montreal this long weekend, it's worth taking a few minutes to map out your route before you leave the house.
A combination of major road closures, ongoing construction, and two high-profile hockey games is set to create significant traffic pressure across the city and surrounding area from Friday through Monday.
Not everything overlaps, but there's enough happening that getting caught off guard could cost you a lot of time.
The Louis-H.-La Fontaine tunnel
One of the bigger disruptions hits Friday night. The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will be completely closed in both directions overnight from Friday May 15 to Saturday May 16, and then again in the northbound direction the following night. Detours are being redirected through the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, which means the east end of Montreal is likely to see significant congestion during those windows.
Downtown and the Ville-Marie tunnel
The Ville-Marie and Viger tunnels are also heavily affected. Highway 136 East will be fully closed between the exit at Rue de la Montagne and the Rue Atateken access point from Friday at 11 p.m. through Monday at 5 a.m. Mobilité Montréal is outright recommending that drivers avoid the sector due to serious congestion risk.
On top of that, a perimeter around the Bell Centre bounded by Rue de la Montagne, Rue Peel, Boulevard René-Lévesque, and Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal will be closed starting at 1 p.m. Saturday for a special event, adding more pressure to an already strained downtown core.
LaSalle and the Turcot
In LaSalle, Route 138 will see disruptions through Tuesday morning with closures on both directions of access toward Rue Clément. The ministry is warning that area could get particularly congested. The Turcot Interchange will also be a problem across several nights, with closures affecting Highways 15 and 20 and access points toward Décarie and the Ville-Marie autoroute.
Two hockey games in the mix
Saturday is the busiest day on the hockey front. The Victoire de Montréal take on the Ottawa Charge in Game 2 of the PWHL Final at Place Bell in Laval, with congestion expected around the arena near Boulevards Le Corbusier and de la Concorde in the afternoon.
Meanwhile the Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres for Game 6 on Saturday, adding to the downtown pressure around the Bell Centre. Along with a packed arena and thousands of people watching outside, you can expect extra chaos if the Habs win and punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final.
Looking ahead to Monday
New construction on Highway 13 South begins Monday May 18 between Boulevard Dagenais Ouest and Highway 440, with lanes reduced and diverted through the end of September. If that's part of your regular route, it's worth factoring in now.
The good news is that not all of these disruptions happen simultaneously. But with the tunnel closures, downtown restrictions, and game-day crowds spread across the weekend, patience and some advance planning will go a long way.
This story was inspired by the article "Travaux, matchs du Canadien et de la Victoire : Ce sera le chaos dans le Grand Montréal" which was originally published on Narcity.
