Traffic was entirely blocked for several hours.
Major traffic congestion at the entrance and exit points of L'Île-des-Soeurs
Verdun Borough was inundated with calls in the morning on Tuesday, October 30 as hundreds of drivers were stuck in a major congestion. It was the same situation for people leaving the island and people going to the island - all stuck in this immense traffic jam.
Several calls and e-mails were also sent to the Magazine regarding this situation. Numerous individuals were forced to cancel their meetings while others arrived very late at work. Traffic was paralysed for several hours based on reports obtained. On the island itself, vehicles were blocked in the areas near the entrance and exit points.
Chain reaction
A vehicle was immobilized at first around 8h00 on highway 15 going north between the L'Île-des-Sœurs bridge and the Turcot interchange. Two towing trucks were needed to remove the stuck vehicle but they took awhile to get to the spot. Given that this incident occurred during peak hours, the length of the towing operation caused a congestion which extended to the proximity of highway 30 on the south shore.
In l’île des Soeurs, the blockage was extended initially until René-Lévesque Boulevard, preventing other vehicles from leaving the island. Afterwards, vehicles came, making the traffic lines longer until the rotary circle at the intersection of René-Lévesque/Île-des-Soeurs. Seeing that René-Lévesque Boulevard was blocked, several drivers were tempted to take Place du Commerce Street which also was congested.
In the morning, thousands of vehicles leave the island headed downtown while a substantial number of vehicles come to the island. Those going to the island were also stuck in the traffic jam because the first rotary circle (near the SAX complex) was also blocked.
Due to this situation happening frequently in similar circumstances, other hook-ups took place and contributed to the deteriorating traffic. To top it all, several drivers displayed a total lack of civic-mindedness by driving on the shoulder or on unpaved sections just to be ahead a few minutes. Combining all these elements brought about total chaos as described earlier.
Numerous rumours
Several erroneous bits of information also contributed to the panic that gripped individuals who were affected by this deplorable situation. There were rumours of a gas leak in the construction site in the northern section.
Contrary to fears expressed by some residents of the island, the security of the island was not in any way threatened during this traffic congestion. Police officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel of Urgence-Santé confirmed to Mayor Claude Trudel that the required number of vehicles to enter or leave the island – if their services had been needed – would have been available.
In Verdun borough, it was also confirmed that this obstruction had nothing to do with the construction of Bell in the northern section. Since the beginning of the construction work, no roadblocks were set up during rush hour. This is the reason why traffic detours are being used only outside rush hours and during weekends, as will be the case for the next few days.
par Pierre Vigneault 
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
Richard Cléroux - Le fouineur politique
