(Quebec) Due to a drop in traffic on the bridges between Quebec and Lévis, but also for a question of costs, the Legault government is giving up on its promise of a third highway link. He now advocates a tunnel reserved for public transport between the two shores.
The news first reported by THE Quebec newspaper has been confirmed by The Press Tuesday afternoon. Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault will make the announcement on Thursday.
The studies that will then be unveiled on the project are clear: with the pandemic and the rise of teleworking, traffic has decreased at rush hour and travel habits have changed. In this context, it is simply no longer justified to add a “third link” to the motorway, it is explained in substance.
The government finds itself abandoning its promise that it defended tooth and nail during the election campaign. Bernard Drainville even said that “the wait has become infernal” on the two bridges. The Legault government also justified its third link by saying that these two infrastructures are aging.
Prime Minister François Legault maintained that his project would lead to a “maximum” expenditure of $6.5 billion, but there were many doubts with the increase in the cost of infrastructure projects. In Quebec, we agree that the advance bill contributed to the abandonment of the highway tunnel.
The CAQ project now aims to build a single tube reserved for public transit. We do not know the chosen mode (bus or tram) and the cost.