The Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge Reconstruction, Explained

The Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge carries Highway 40 across the Lake of Two Mountains, connecting Vaudreuil-Dorion to Senneville and Montreal's West Island. Opened in 1966 with a design lifespan of roughly 35 years (to around 2001), it's today the only direct road link between the region and Montreal via this corridor - about 81,000 vehicles cross it every day (2023 figures), roughly 11% of them trucks.

On May 19, 2021, Quebec's transport minister ordered a full, immediate closure of the bridge after damage to reinforcing rods was found, judged as potentially having weakened the structure. Traffic was diverted onto highways 20 and 30, the Highway 30 toll was suspended, and the Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter train ran free. Lanes reopened in stages between May 31 and June 14, 2021, but the pre-closure lane count was never fully restored.

A new fissure was found on November 24, 2023, and by December 2, 2023 the bridge was cut to a single lane per direction for the winter. Mayor Guy Pilon's reaction: "Was I surprised? No. It was only a matter of time." A subsequent survey of Vaudreuil-Soulanges businesses found 68% of major employers reported a performance decline tied to the lane reductions.

Per the official Quebec government project page, the rebuild is happening in phases:

The cost estimate has climbed quickly: roughly $1.4 billion in 2022, revised to $2 billion in February 2023, then to $2.3 billion in April 2023 - the figure currently shown on the project's official page, entirely financed by the Quebec government. Given that history of upward revisions in a little over a year, don't be surprised if this figure moves again. No toll is planned for this bridge.

A 4th lane reopened on April 28, 2025, bringing the speed limit back up from 60 to 70 km/h after the most restrictive period. Per the official project page, 5 of the original 6 lanes are currently open, with 3 lanes per direction on the Highway 40 approaches. This changes as construction progresses - check the official page below for today's status.

The new bridge won't include a dedicated light-rail transit lane - Montreal's REM (Réseau express métropolitain) doesn't reach Vaudreuil-Dorion; its western branch ends at Anse-à-l'Orme on Montreal's West Island and doesn't cross this bridge. Mayor Guy Pilon called the lack of a dedicated transit lane "aberrant," saying (in French): "We're building a brand-new structure in Quebec and not including a reserved lane for public transit." The new bridge design does include wide shoulders that buses can use.

The exo Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter train remains the transit service that actually serves Vaudreuil-Dorion, on a completely separate corridor. During the worst 2021 and 2023 disruptions, exo offered free rides and extra peak-period departures, and more than 300 temporary parking spots were added near the Vaudreuil train station in April 2024.

During the 2021 and 2023 closures, traffic was diverted onto two alternate routes: south via Highway 20 through Île Perrot (the Galipeault and Taschereau bridges) to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, or - for a longer detour - Highway 30, which loops around Montreal to the south.

This site is static and can't show live traffic conditions. For the current state of construction and lane counts, check the official Quebec government project page below; for more local coverage, InfoSuroit and Néomedia regularly report on impacts specific to Vaudreuil-Dorion.