Public consultations on the future railway bypass at Lac-Mégantic will begin on Friday, Transport Canada announced.
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Citizens will have two weeks to express their opinion “about the main structures planned for the project, the construction activities, the committees and the means of communication with the stakeholders and the operation of the railway facilities”, can we read in the press release from the ministry, released Thursday.
The project, whose completion is scheduled for 2023, must absolutely be the subject of consultations to move forward. These will end on February 4.
The construction of this bypass is long overdue in the region, more than eight years after the rail tragedy that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic.
The 13-kilometre route planned by Transports Canada plans to bypass the townships, while the current route crosses the heart of the city.
The construction of the new route is valued at $133 million.
Other consultations have already taken place, including that of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) completed in 2009, as well as the public consultation of the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ) in 2020.
Ottawa is planning two virtual sessions on January 27, 2022, the first from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the second from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It will also be possible to comment on the project on the government’s online portal. More information can be found at canada.ca/consultation-voie-contournement-lac-megantic