The removal of several kilometers of asphalt on the Metropolitan highway, due to a “lower class” of bitumen produced, is a “frustrating situation” for the population, acknowledged Friday the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel. He promises “rigorous monitoring of construction sites” to ensure that such a situation does not happen again.
Posted at 9:33 a.m.
“This is obviously a frustrating situation for users of the Métropolitaine who will have to deal with the repair work. We are fully aware of this, ”said Mr. Bonnardel in a statement sent by his cabinet to The Pressearly in the day.
For the elected caquiste, however, it must be understood that there was an urgency to act “because the situation could cause security issues”.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Francois Bonnardel
“The contractor has admitted his error and the repair is done at zero cost for Quebecers,” he insisted, echoing the words of the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) the day before. “This is a situation never seen and the ministry will ensure rigorous monitoring of construction sites to prevent such a situation from ever happening again”, also underlined Mr. Bonnardel.
Thusday, The Press reported that last summer, the government noticed that “a little sweat” was appearing on the surface of the highway. Usually associated with too much bitumen in the asphalt, this phenomenon actually causes the bitumen to rise to the top. The road therefore gives “the impression of being wet”, which raises safety issues. Laboratory tests confirmed that the bitumen used “was not of good quality”.
Requests, concerns
So far, Minister Bonnardel has not exactly specified what actions will be taken to correct the situation in the future. Thursday, the president of the Professional Association of Engineers of the Government of Quebec (APIGQ), Marc-André Martin, notably deplored that the situation illustrates the weakness of the processes in place.
“Everything related to the control of asphalt and bitumen is self-control by contractors, and that is a decision by the MTQ. It has been said for more than 20 years that it is appalling, ”he castigated.
Transport planning expert at the University of Montreal, Pierre Barrieau, also said he doubted that this work will be done at zero cost to the government. “It’s probably going to cost millions in supervision to make sure it’s done correctly, not to mention the very high costs of congestion, closures and communication around the site. All of this has a price that the government will have to pay,” he said.
The MTQ, he replied Friday by email that in addition to all the work, “the costs of monitoring and analysis of the laboratories will also be at the expense of Roxboro”.
Remember that in the west of the metropolitan area, the asphalt will be completely replaced in the coming weeks by “blitz”, the major repair work not to be carried out for at least five years. In the east, where the bulk of the work could be launched within five years, between the Provencher and Saint-Laurent axes, the asphalt will not be replaced, at least for the moment. In this segment, the contractor has undertaken to give “a five-year durability guarantee” on its bitumen. If this does not meet expectations, the work will also have to be redone.