Construction on 3 major North-South boulevards is driving some west-island commuters to thievery.
Hydro and Bell are doing maintenance on lines beneath St Jeans boulevard, at the same time as there's work being done on St Charles and Sources .
Some people pulling U-turns in commercial parking lots to get past detours are being dinged with traffic tickets - a situation Dollard Mayor Ed Janiszewski says must be frustrating.
"We're quite disappointed in the time it's taken and the inconvenience to motorists," he says. "We asked the police to be lenient and give warnings, but they're giving tickets."
He says some west island commuters are so frustrated with the detours they're stealing city signage warning against illegal u-turns under the shroud of night.
"We put signs up and I think angry residents who get infractions remove them because the next morning the police call us and we have to make up new ones," he says. "The next morning it becomes more confusing for motorists."
Commuters like Oriana Gagnon Martinez says it's extended her commute by over 1/2 hr.
"The construction over here is just traffic all the time wherever I go," she says. "You can't turn left or right - you have to make a bunch of detours wherever you go."
Janiszewski says the nightmare traffic on the west island could continue through September, his best advice is to leave the house before 6:30 or after 9:00 am to avoid the massive gridlock.