Economic security and the third link | Duclos proposes lowering the deck of the Quebec Bridge

(Quebec) Jean-Yves Duclos undermined the “economic security” argument invoked by François Legault to sell his third highway link by proposing to lower the deck of the Quebec bridge to allow transport by truck. This proposal did not come out of “a hat”, and numerous studies have been done on the subject, he reiterated Friday.

“If the Quebec government ever needs the collaboration of the Canadian government to find these studies […]no problem, but these studies are studies by the government of Quebec, sometimes with the collaboration of Canadian National,” said the federal MP for Quebec and Minister of Public Services and Supply on Friday.

Thursday, François Legault, despite the unfavorable opinion of the CDPQ, announced the construction of a highway bridge between Quebec and Lévis. This infrastructure will not significantly improve mobility in the region, acknowledged the Prime Minister, but it would help solidify economic security in the event of the prolonged closure of the Pierre-Laporte bridge. It is currently the only bridge allowing the transport of goods in the region, he stressed.

“Imagine if one day something happened. There is no one who can foresee the unexpected. We are not safe from the fact that one day something happens on one of the two bridges and we have to close it,” explained Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault.

Mr. Duclos’ proposal was greeted with skepticism by François Legault. “I find it funny that Mr. Duclos pulled that out of his hat. It seems to me that he could have talked about it before,” he said at a press briefing.

The purchase of the Quebec bridge by the federal government changes the situation

Mr. Duclos responded on Friday. He explained that his role in the federal government’s purchase of the Quebec bridge put him in contact with many experts. He states, for example, that people at Quebec City have told him that we have known for a long time “that a change in the height of the deck could facilitate additional transportation that is not possible or permitted now.”

A 2014 study commissioned by the Capital Transport Network proposed, for example, lowering the deck of the Quebec Bridge to allow a tramway to circulate there while maintaining automobile traffic, by lowering the speed.

What changes the situation today, indicated Mr. Duclos, is that the federal government has regained possession of the Quebec bridge and is committed to ensuring its sustainability. “Transports Quebec engineers tell us that it can go to the over 75 years old. […] Contrary to the legitimate concerns we had a few months ago, the Quebec Bridge is there for many, many decades,” said Mr. Duclos.

It offers its full collaboration to the government of Quebec, which is responsible for the bridge deck – where the cars travel – so that this infrastructure is better used in a context of resource scarcity.

“The Quebec Bridge will once again become the property of the Government of Canada. Its future is safeguarded, we can now consider using it differently, which was impossible to do before,” said Mr. Duclos.

For its part, the Quebec Ministry of Transport recognizes that trucking was authorized on the Quebec Bridge until 1992, but asserts that “to allow trucks to pass safely, one of the three lanes of the bridge would have to be removed. bridge permanently.” The Ministry adds that the replacement of the deck is already in the planning phase, its lowering would not allow heavy trucking on three lanes of traffic.