Highway 55, closed at Saint-Étienne-des-Grès for a week, will not reopen before the start of the Saint-Tite Western Festival, which is scheduled to kick off on September 6, according to the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ).
The highway was closed as a precaution on August 19 in Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, just north of Trois-Rivières, to “ensure the safety of road users following erosion in the central reservation,” according to the MTQ. The rains that brought Debby could have contributed to the ground collapse.
The MTQ explains that “given the height of the water table, [il] is obliged to review its working method, which explains this additional delay. He was unable to give a timetable for a possible reopening.
This work may cause slowdowns in the areas served by Route 55, particularly in the corridor between Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan.
The MTQ invites motorists “to allow more time to get to their destination and to plan their trips by regularly consulting Québec 511.”