Laurentians | The Roads of Shame

The state of Route 117 and Autoroute 15 in the Laurentians is so deplorable that the region’s mayors have decided to substitute themselves for the Ministère des Transports du Québec to carry out the necessary repairs. The death of a motorcyclist was a turning point.

Suzanne Colpron
The Press

“The 117 gang” is mobilizing

“If you are not able to do it, we will do it, but we will not do it voluntarily! »

Faced with the inaction of the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) to remedy the deplorable state of the roads in their region, the mayors of the Laurentians have chosen to work together and take matters into their own hands.

It must be said that the conditions of several sections are in a deplorable state. In Saint-Jérôme, Boulevard du Curé-Labelle, a good part of which falls under the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec, ranks third in the most recent list of the worst roads in Quebec, compiled by CAA-Quebec.

Certain portions of the network, which would need urgent repairs, have been compromising the safety of motorists and motorcyclists for months, such as the beginning of Highway 15, in Sainte-Agathe, in a southerly direction, where you literally have to zigzag between giant holes that can no longer be called potholes.

“I’ve never seen Route 117 in such a state,” said an employee of the City of Saint-Jérôme, who lives in Mont-Laurier.

Citizen pressure

The dissatisfaction turned into indignation when an accident occurred which caused one death and one serious injury, which would be directly linked to the poor condition of the roadway, in Sainte-Adèle. The survivor, Johanne Lortie, is considering taking legal action against the MTQ for criminal negligence.

“One day, the director of public works told me: ‘It doesn’t make sense, we have to repair the roads, it’s made dangerous, people can be seriously injured'”, explains the Mayor of Sainte-Adèle, Michèle Lalonde, who sent a letter to the MTQ. “A fairly strong letter in which we almost speak of criminal negligence,” she said. Moreover, there was a death which was caused precisely because of the conditions of the road. »

Citizen pressure also pushed the mayor to act, especially since Route 117 passes through the heart of her city. This dissatisfaction is particularly visible when reading his Facebook page where the messages are multiplying to denounce the crevasses and craters.

“Terrible, this route 117! writes Diane Garand. What is the government waiting for to redo it once and for all in the rules of the art? I am ashamed of our roads. »

“The 15 with its wheels! launches Mireille Giguère. The car goes all wrong when you drive in there. In addition, the white and yellow lines are erased. So, we have a hard time keeping our bearings in the evening when it rains. On the 117 there are potholes the size of which you can’t even imagine. It’s almost criminal to leave a road in this condition. »

“Aberrant! »

In mid-June, as part of a meeting of mayors, Michèle Lalonde launched the idea of ​​organizing a press conference to put pressure on the MTQ and denounce its communication problems: “We call them, they do not return calls. All they do is send us a reference number with an acknowledgment of receipt. »

Several mayors agreed to participate in its press conference, held on June 30, starting with those of Sainte-Agathe, Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jérôme, Prévost and Piedmont.

“If I had taken an extra week to organize it, I think we would have been 25,” she said. We were still about fifteen mayors, which shows that there is a major concern on the part of the municipalities. »

It was in the wake of this event that the idea of ​​taking charge of road repair work under the responsibility of the MTQ, and passing on the bill to the Department, emerged.

“Saint-Jérôme, we were there, because we have identical realities to all these cities, underlines the mayor of this municipality, Marc Bourcier. In other words, there is a lot of work to be done on the 117 because it is an alternative route to the 15, which also currently has shortcomings. There are crevices in there, it’s not fun for drivers. So people take the 117.”

Mayor Bourcier recalls that cities have carried out urgent work on national roads in the past, without being compensated.

“They sent the invoice to the Ministry, but they were never paid,” he reveals. So, we reach out to the Ministry, we are in solution mode. The 117 gang, in very, very, very large majority, we are ready to do the work. It’s a matter of security. »

Collaboration agreements

So far, these concerted efforts have had limited effects. Things have moved… a little.

“The MTQ asked us if we were ready to take on seven new responsibilities such as road marking, sand removal in the spring and pothole patching operations,” said the mayor of Sainte-Adèle.

For its part, the MTQ says it is analyzing “different ways of doing things to allow partners, such as municipalities, to carry out work on its infrastructures, says its spokesperson, Nathalie Nolin. There are agreements that are possible. Some are already underway, especially for maintenance work. »

“Discussions are underway with municipalities in the Laurentians,” adds Ms.^me Nolin. There is an openness to set up collaboration agreements in certain cases. »

“The system let me down”

It was the 1^er May, late afternoon. Johanne Lortie was riding a motorcycle with her fiancé Martin Labelle on Highway 15 in the Laurentians. She was sitting in the back. He was driving.

The accident occurred in exit 67, on the viaduct that leads to Sainte-Adèle.

The car ahead of them swerved to the right to avoid “ostrich nests,” as she puts it, before turning left to take Highway 117 southbound. Mr. Labelle was not able to avoid it. His motorcycle hit the car. Instantly, he and his fiancée were thrown into the air. Mr. Labelle is dead. M^me Lortie fell several meters to find himself at the bottom of the overpass, along Highway 15. At least that’s what he was told. Because she doesn’t remember anything.

“I have no memory. I woke up in my hospital room, ”she says, in the room of her residence for seniors (RPA) in Saint-Eustache where she has spent most of her time since June 17, waiting to find the ability to live at home, in Val-des-Lacs, “in the depths of the woods”, for lack of a more appropriate place.

“The only thing I know is that I no longer have a husband and I’m broken all over,” said the 57-year-old, unable to walk.

In the accident, she suffered multiple fractures. “I have a fractured pelvis, a busted femur with pins in my right leg. I have five cracks in my spine that I will manage all my life like hernias. I have both knees finished, too, she lists. I don’t have paralysis. But I took the trouble to train all my life to have a fit old age. What will be the consequences? I do not know yet. »

“Total negligence by the MTQ”

Hospitalized at the Sacré-Coeur hospital, she was transferred after 20 days to the Saint-Eustache hospital, where she remained for nearly a month.

This architectural designer, mother of two young adults, resents the Saint-Eustache hospital, which has not found a place for her in a rehabilitation center. “They thought I could manage on my own because I could stand up with a walker,” she explains. But she is especially angry with the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) which had not repaired the damaged road where her husband lost his life, despite numerous complaints.

“There have been complaints about this place for months and months and months. This is total negligence by the MTQ. It is criminal negligence,” she accuses.

According to M^me Lortie, the configuration of exit 67 of Highway 15, in Sainte-Adèle, is problematic. “It’s been supposed to be changed for a long time,” she insists. And the pavement is extremely damaged. I was told afterwards that people avoid going through it because it is too damaged. There are punctures, broken suspension… Of course, they sealed the hole the day after the accident. »

The Mayor of Sainte-Adèle, Michèle Lalonde, adds that other work was done on June 27: “From 3 a.m. until 10 a.m., a team of six City employees took seven hours to seal all the holes in the two roads of the MTQ, which offered us a sum of money to do it. I can’t tell you, for example, if the amount of money really corresponds to what it costs us. »

But one thing is certain, the roadway is in poor condition at this location for a long time. “There have been complaints for years,” said the mayor. I think the three mayors who preceded me all asked to redo the surfaces. »

M^me Lortie is also considering suing the MTQ for “criminal negligence” in this case.

“I’m burned, burned, burned,” she says. And I’m in an RPA with senile old people. I’m torn because the system let me down. »