Use public transit, city urges St. Patrick's Day revelers: Intense weekend of roadwork ahead

More than 50,000 people are expected to take part in St.Patrick's Day festivities on Sunday, but the cityis urging parade-goers to use public transit because of ongoing road closures.

The annual parade will runalong deMaisonneuveBoulevard this year because of construction on its usual Ste-Catherine Street route.

The parade kicks off atnoon at the corner of CityCouncillorsStreet and will end atMackayStreet. Surrounding streets will be closed from 7 a.m. until around 5 p.m.

"Everyone will be welcome to the St. Patrick's Day parade but our invitation comes with one [piece of]advice: you better come by public transit. Use the buses and subway," said city spokesperson PhilippeSabourin.

The parade coincides with an intense weekend of roadwork and related closures around the city.

Provincial transport officials are recommending drivers plan their routes ahead of time, as demolition work on the old Turcot Interchange and the old Champlain Bridge will beunderway.

"It's two major projects with deadlines that are very close. For the Turcot Interchange they need to do the dismantling so that needs to be done to prepare for the construction of the new project," said Martin Girard, a spokesperson for the Quebec Transport Ministry.

"We will have important work in this area for the next few months ... but this has to be done so the projects can be finished on the deadline."

Highway closures

The following closures are in effect from Friday midnight until Monday 5 a.m.

Highway 20/ Ville-Marie Expressway:

Westbound: Closed between Exit 5 (Robert-Bourassa Blvd./Champlain Bridge/Victoria Bridge) to the Ville Saint-Pierre Interchange in Lachine.

Eastbound: Closed from 1st Avenueexit ramp to Angrignon entrance ramp. Then the eastbound Ville-Marie is closed from Turcot interchange until the de la Cathdrale/Notre-Dame entrance ramp.

Expect delays getting to airport

Anyone heading to Trudeau airport this weekend should avoid taking Highway 20 or 13, where roadwork may lead to delays. Instead, drivers should get there via Highway 40 and the 520 (Cte-de-Liesse).

Champlain Bridge

Heading toward the South Shore will be tricky this weekend too.

• Highway 10 eastbound (the Bonaventure) is closed between Exit 4 (the Turcot Interchange) and Nuns' Island.

From the 15 southbound:

• The exit onto Nuns' Island for Chemin de la Pointe-Nord (Exit 57) is closed.
• The Atwater exit is also closed all weekend.

People are urged to take either the Victoria or Jacques-Cartier bridges. The Victoria Bridge will have two lanes open in the southbound direction this weekend.