(Quebec) It may cost nearly $ 10 billion and be the longest highway tunnel in North America, the construction of the third link will be “carbon neutral” suggested François Bonnardel on Tuesday.
The Minister of Transport published a long message on Facebook to defend his tunnel project, 15 days after a formal exit from Régis Labeaume, who questioned the need for the work in a long letter.
“The construction of the tunnel will itself be carbon neutral. I know that these facts do not suit some opponents of the tunnel, who mistakenly like to make it a symbol of increased greenhouse gases, but the facts are the facts ”, wrote Mr. Bonnardel in his missive.
This would be the first time that François Legault’s government has said that its 8.1 km, six-lane tunnel will be carbon neutral. Carbon neutrality is a concept which implies that the balance sheet of the structure will be neutral in terms of greenhouse gases.
“For practically the entire useful life of the tunnel, there will only be zero-emission cars running there,” adds Bonnardel, referring to electric cars.
“Very quickly after its commissioning, it will no longer be possible to buy a gasoline vehicle in Quebec,” he wrote. Between 2035 and 2045, Quebec should witness the conversion of most of its vehicle fleet. ”
Electric cars produce less greenhouse gases than gasoline cars. But they are more polluting to produce.
A study recently unveiled by Volvo suggested that an electric vehicle powered by renewable energy emits half the greenhouse gases in its useful life than a gasoline vehicle. Its broadcasts, however, are very real.
“More and more infernal”
In a letter posted on Facebook on November 12, the outgoing mayor of Quebec City invited François Legault to change his mind about the Quebec-Lévis tunnel.
According to Régis Labeaume, the tunnel is not located in the optimal location, will save motorists little time and the active population of the South Shore is expected to stagnate, if not decrease.
Mr. Labeaume invited Quebec to think about less expensive means of reducing congestion on the points, such as dynamic management of the tracks during peak hours on the Pierre-Laporte bridge.
But the Minister of Transport believes that the time is not for half measures. Peak periods on bridges have gone from two hours in 1997 to three hours in 2017, writes François Bonnardel.
The bridges are, at rush hour, “practically at their maximum capacity”.
“If the trend continues, rush hour will become more and more hellish on bridges, since the vehicle fleet in the territory of the Quebec Metropolitan Community is expected to drop from 546,019 to 633,678 vehicles over the next 10 years. He writes.
If Mr. Bonnardel promises a carbon neutral tunnel, he says he is aware, however, that it could generate, without supervision, urban sprawl.
“These issues can be solved. To this end, the government will ensure, together with the cities concerned, that the future economic development that the tunnel will generate is supported in a sustainable perspective and for the protection of agricultural land. ”