Construction holiday underway, but Turcot work keeps going

The construction holiday has officially started, but even that won't prevent weekend traffic nightmares around the Turcot interchange.

Most work on the Turcot will continuethroughoutthe two-week period, whichruns until Aug.3.

Starting at the end of the eveningFriday untilMonday at 5:00 am, Highways 720 and 20 westbound will be closed on a long stretch between Exit 5 (Robert-Bourassa Boulevard/Samuel-De Champlain Bridge/Victoria Bridge) and the onramp from Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Boulevard.

Westbound onrampsfrom Saint-Antoine Street East and Htel-de-Ville Avenue will be closed. The same will apply to the temporary entrance at Rose-de-Lima Street and the ramp leading from Highway 720 West to Highway 15 North.

Highway 20 and 720 eastbound will be closed in the Turcot Interchange, as well as the ramp from Highway 20 East to Highway 15 North.

Construction activity up this year

The Construction Commission of Quebec (CCQ) said that in the last few weeksit has sent nearly 159,000 holiday cheques to construction workers, totallingmore than $447 million.

This is an increase of more than 6 per cent from the summer of 2019, when the totalwas $421 million. The CCQ said the jump ismainly due to anincrease in construction activity this year.

Around80 per cent of construction workers and employers goon vacation during the two-week period.

Employers pay monthly allowances to the CCQ for non-working holidays and vacations as outlinedin collective agreements. These amounts represent 13 per cent of the wages earned by the workers each work week.

Vacations are mandatory for the entire construction industry, in all sectors. But there are exclusions, including certain typesof civil engineering projects and roadwork. Emergency, repair, maintenance, renovation or modification work can also take place in some situations.