(Quebec) François Legault is moving forward with his third highway link without public transport between Quebec and Lévis, even if the Caisse de dépôt recommended against it. He also gives the go to the first phase of the Quebec tramway, but wants to further study the suggestion of an SRB network in Quebec and Lévis.
The Prime Minister justifies his decision to move forward at all costs with the construction of a new highway link by asserting that the prolonged closure of the Pierre-Laporte bridge would be catastrophic for the region’s economy since 10,500 trucks per day borrow it. No costs or timelines have been announced.
“For reasons of economic security, our government is committed to planning and building a new highway link between Quebec City and Lévis. […] Taking a step back, we see that the economic security issue is very important. That is why we are changing our decision,” explained the Prime Minister at a press conference on Saturday.
“As for the new motorway link, it’s a project that we’ve been talking about for a very long time. As Prime Minister, this is the kind of file where no matter the decision, there are people who will complain,” summarized Mr. Legault.
This argument is, however, called into question by federal Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who affirmed the day before that the Quebec bridge, of which the federal government is the new owner, could accommodate heavy trucking with the repair of its deck in the event of emergency. This alternative would be less expensive than building a new bridge.
The Prime Minister indicated that he did not know, and that the question would have to be studied. “I can’t answer you because this is the first time I’ve heard of this,” he said. He wondered where Mr. Duclos had gotten this information. Mr. Duclos’ office emphasizes that the information comes from a study carried out by the CIMA /Tetra Tech consortium, submitted to the Ministry of Transport of Quebec in 2016, which underlines that an SRB could use the Quebec bridge with improvements .
In its report, the Caisse de dépôt also emphasizes that “opinions are however divided on the preferred solution”. “While many consider the need to build new infrastructure to meet these challenges, others give priority to securing and optimizing existing infrastructure, without forgetting the development of public and active transportation,” explains the report.
As for a new highway link, the CDPQ recommended against it.
Added to this are very real geographical constraints. The insertion of a highway bridge to connect it to Highway 440 from the river requires the construction of a large-scale connection structure to connect it to Highway 440, and this is without taking into account the presence of environments wetlands and protected areas. The project is also “incompatible with the project to transform the Dufferin-Montmorency highway into an urban boulevard.”
In April, the government announced the opposite. “An urban boulevard is a must,” said Minister Jonatan Julien at a press conference. “If we don’t think about that, let’s stop working on it, friends. For me, that’s a given,” said the minister as he presented three award-winning concepts from an international ideas competition to redevelop a strip of land located between the river and the highway over 8.6 km, from Beauport Bay to Montmorency Falls Park. This is the area where a road interchange should be built.
Mr. Julien, who participated in the press conference, affirmed that announcements would be made in due course, but that he still intended to develop this urban boulevard.
On the public transit side, the Prime Minister is committed to building the “backbone” of the tramway project proposed by the CDPQ, but wants to speak to the mayors of Quebec City and Lévis before moving forward with the SRB services proposed in the Caisse report. He is not closing the door on phases 2 and 3 of the project, extensions of the tramway network.
On the other hand, the public transport tunnel proposed by the fund “is not one of our priorities,” he said. As for the third highway link, Mr. Legault does not anticipate that it will be used by public transport. He also does not wish to commission studies to assess the economic risks incurred by the closure of the Pierre-Laporte bridge.
