An incident causes a seven-hour traffic jam near the Pierre-Laporte Bridge

Motorists trying to get to Quebec had to be patient on Friday afternoon and part of the evening following the crash caused by the expansion joint near the south head of the Pierre-Laporte Bridge.

The incident took place at around 12 noon on the Richie Bridge across the Saudier River shortly before the infrastructure.

A vehicle with five passengers, including three children, collided with an extension link that came out of its axle on the road. Airbags were used under the force of impact. Fortunately, no one in it was seriously injured.

Two lanes on three highways were closed to the north, causing heavy traffic congestion that lasted for several hours. One of them stretches for almost 13 kilometers on Highway 20.

Engineers at the Minister des Transport (MTQ) were inspecting the situation as they had to rush to the scene as fluids spilled from the emergency-environment vehicle.

Once the problem was fixed, the situation was slowly resolved and all lanes were reopened before 7pm.

The department said the work being carried out was temporary and that permanent remedial action would be taken eventually.