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Any way Claude Charpentier looks at it, January’s planned closure of the Mount Royal Tunnel for nearly four years will cost him dearly.

“It will either cost me time and quality of life, or it will cost me financially,” said Charpentier, a resident of Deux-Montagnes and owner of Notarius, a tech company based downtown that specializes in online notarial services that employs 35.

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Four of his employees also depend on the train to get to the office.

Now Charpentier is preparing for his employees to be late more often, to work from home or to ask for flexible work schedules to avoid rush-hour congestion. Any way he sees it, he expects his company will lose productivity.

Charpentier is not alone. Businesses across the region are preparing for a new reality starting on Jan. 6, when the tunnel is closed by builders of the new Réseau express métropolitain to adapt the tracks and stations for the driverless light-rail system. The $6.3-billion project will replace the existing Deux-Montagnes commuter line and add branches to the airport, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue in the West Island and over the Champlain Bridge to the South Shore — opening in phases between 2021 and 2023.