More than 40% of roads in Quebec still lack love, worries CAA-Quebec. The publication of its traditional list of the “worst roads 2023” shows that the citizens of Gatineau are particularly irritated by the state of their roads.
For a second consecutive year, Gatineau tops the sad CAA-Quebec ranking, released on Tuesday, while Montreal is excluded from the top 10. Five axes of the metropolis are still considered particularly problematic.
This year, Georges Street in Gatineau won the prize for the most damaged road. Last year, it was Boulevard de la Gappe located in the same city that finished first. This year, second place goes to Route 329 in Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, in the Laurentians. The Route des Fondateurs in Larouche, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, brings up the rear.
Still in Gatineau, Chemin Cook ranks fourth, followed by Chemin Sainte-Foy in Quebec City, Route Madoc in Saguenay, Chemin du Contour-du-Lac-à Beauce in La Tuque, Route 113 in Senneterre, road from Saint-Achillée to Château-Richer and, finally, road 343 to Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare.
The winners are the result of a citizen vote held mainly online over the past four weeks. “It shows above all that we have a road network that is very old. With an average age of 40, we have a lot of catching up to do. About 56% of the roads are considered to be in good condition, so almost one in two roads needs to be repaired,” explains CAA-Quebec spokesperson David Marcille.
Note: the proportion of 56% is taken from the 2023-2033 Québec Infrastructure Plan, which therefore excludes municipal road networks.
“Still a lot of work” in Montreal
Even if she is not part of the top 10 provincial, the Montreal region “still has a lot of work to do,” continues Mr. Marcille. His group calculates that the most problematic streets in the eyes of the population are, in order, rue Notre-Dame Est, boulevard de l’Acadie, avenue Christophe-Colomb, chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse and St. Laurent Boulevard.
CAA-Quebec recognizes, however, that major investments have been made in the past few years in the metropolitan area to reverse the trend.
“Gouin Boulevard, for example, has often been on our list in the past, but it received a huge investment and the situation has changed. That’s what this exercise is for. We always follow up with the cities concerned in the rankings to ensure that there are corrective measures taken,” continues Mr. Marcille.
In mid-May, The Press also reported that since the beginning of 2023, the City of Montreal has repaired more than 111,000 potholes on its territory, a figure higher than the previous year with 96,800 potholes repaired . This is still significantly below the annual average for 2017, 2018 and 2019, with 176,461 plugged holes per year.
“What is happening in Gatineau? »
It must be remembered that CAA-Quebec’s ranking is not a scientific study, being based primarily on the popular vote, and therefore, on the mobilization of populations in the various regions. Nevertheless, “Gatineau is starting to come back very often, so there is reason to ask questions,” maintains Mr. Marcille.
“Why do we see this city so often? What’s going on in Gatineau? We are starting to ask ourselves questions, ”he adds.
In its report, the organization explains in particular that “the investments promised by the government, in particular those dedicated to Route 105, are minimal according to local elected officials”. We are thus referring to the mayors of the 17 municipalities of the MRC de Vallée-de-la-Gatineau who considered “insufficient” the investments extended by Quebec on this national road, in April.
“Earlier this year, a petition asking the ministry to prioritize repairs on this problematic road circulated, despite an announcement of several million dedicated to its maintenance,” persists CAA-Quebec. Just over 5,700 citizens across the province voted this year to establish the 10 worst roads in Quebec. They could do it online, from April 12 to May 8.