Councillor Brian McHattie says he has never seen a city project with so much preparation, but he still believes "all hell will break loose" after the barricades go up on Beckett Drive Monday morning.

From that day until Labour Day weekend, the Mountain access also known as the Queen Street hill will be closed for $4.3 million in road reconstruction, new retaining walls and drainage improvements.

Martin White, the city's manager of traffic operations, says the advice for Beckett Drive users is to use the Jolley Cut or Claremont Access because those routes can handle the increased traffic. But James Mountain Road (which begins at West 5th Street), the closest access to Beckett Drive, can't.

"I don't quite know what to anticipate. The first three days are going to be an opportunity for people to realize that the signs mean what they say, that the access is closed and traffic must use an alternative. I suspect at least on Monday morning there will be some moderate congestion on Garth Street."

But Councillor Terry Whitehead thinks it will be worse than moderate.

"The West 5th access is going to be a parking lot as the traffic heads over there ... I'm hoping people are heeding the warnings ... We have signage all over the place."

Dozens of signs about the impending closure have been put up around the west end of the lower city and the West Mountain. The city has sent out a mass mailing to residents who live in wards most impacted by the closure. It has also set up a special website at www.queenstreethillclosed.ca to offer updates and tips.

And there is even a commuter questionnaire on the Queen Street hill website that motorists can fill out to find out the best route on how to get where they want to go.

The Hamilton Paramedic Service says dispatchers will make efforts to ensure there are vehicles on both city levels at all times to minimize using Mountain accesses.

St. Joseph's Hospital is urging patients to plan for traffic delays when going to the hospital for appointments.

But there are some mitigating factors:

• Summer traffic in the city is less congested than during the rest of the year;

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• Mohawk College has a small fraction of the students in the summer compared to the rest of the year. Hillfield Strathallan is the same story. So there will be a lot fewer students going up and down the Mountain;

•The closure will have minimal effect on fire service because fire equipment rarely goes up and down the Mountain, a spokesperson said. Mountain calls are handled by Mountain stations, and lower city calls by lower city stations. A police spokesperson could not be reached to shed light on the effect on police operations.