MONTREAL — The long-awaited, 42-kilometre stretch of Autoroute 30 in Quebec officially opened today, with various politicians on-hand to help cut the ribbon, including Minister of Transport Denis Lebel.

The new Western section of autoroute 30, which was open for travel on December 15, connects autoroute 20 and autoroute 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion to the existing autoroute 30 in Châteauguay.

“This new corridor will reduce traffic congestion in and around Montréal, improve access to markets in Ontario, the Maritimes and the United States, and greatly contribute to the economic growth in Montérégie, in Montréal and across Québec,” said Lebel of the public-private initiative.

The Western section includes several large works such as the tunnel under the Soulanges canal, pont Serge-Marcil over the St. Lawrence, and a bridge over canal de Beauharnois, the government pointed out.

Tolls will be collected at the north end of pont Serge-Marcil — something that The Montreal Gazette reported is not sitting well with truckers as the province opted not to harmonize the tolling system.

According to the Gazette, truckers will have to use multiple transponders if they’re running along highway 30 and 25 toll bridges in the Montreal region, or down to U.S. states that use the E-ZPass system.

Marc Cadieux, of the Association du camionnage du Québec, said that the association had asked for transponders to be harmonized. A universal system helps reduce costs, Cadieux pointed out to the Gazette.

The toll will be $1.15 per axle.