Work halted on La Fontaine tunnel after 2 workers suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning

CBC
·1 min read
Half of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel has been closed for major repairs since Oct. 31, 2022. It's set to reopen sometime in 2025. (Carla Oliveira/Radio-Canada - image credit)
Half of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel has been closed for major repairs since Oct. 31, 2022. It's set to reopen sometime in 2025. (Carla Oliveira/Radio-Canada - image credit)

A construction site inside Montreal's Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel has been shut down temporarily after two workers suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning Friday.

The incident happened in the southern section of the tunnel, which is closed to vehicles, and the site was shut down at 10 p.m. Friday night. Nicolas Bégin, a spokesperson for Quebec's workplace safety board (CNESST), says its team found "significant deficiencies" linked to ventilation and that an investigation is currently underway.

The site will remained closed until a new plan for ventilation procedures is in place. The safety of drivers in the functional side of the tunnel on the north side, however, is not compromised, said the Transport Ministry in a statement. It adds that air quality samples are regularly collected in the section of the tunnel open to traffic.

Work on the tunnel should resume next week, according to the Transport Ministry. It says it's too soon to determine whether this interruption will delay the tunnel's complete reopening.