The first month of what will be three years of construction on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel has seen traffic on the thoroughfare reduced by more than half, the provincial government has announced.

Three of the tunnel’s six lanes have been closed since Oct. 31 and will remain so until November 2025.

Prior to the start of renovation work in July 2020, the tunnel was used by 120,000 vehicles daily, compared with 58,000 now, a reduction the government is crediting to the measures it took to offer users alternatives, including public transit.

In November, there were 1,319 trips taken daily on the free shuttle bus service established to provide motorists with a public transit option. The Radisson and Longueuil métro stations recorded respective increases in ridership of 5.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent during the month, compared with the period before capacity was reduced on the tunnel.

Three park-and-go parking lots on the South Shore were enlarged and their occupation rate increased by 27 per cent, while a ferry service crossing the river to downtown Montreal recorded a 34.6 per cent increase in traffic in November compared with the previous month.

Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said she found the statistics encouraging, but noted there is still a great deal of capacity on alternative forms of transport.