(Quebec) The cost of infrastructure works is rising everywhere, but here we’ve reached an extraordinary threshold: The bill to rebuild the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge in the west of the metropolis will be almost 1 billion more than expected, a 65% increase. The seeds will be activated this summer.
Posted at 5:00 am
On Monday, the Legault government will officially announce the contract for the replacement of this bridge over Highway 40, which crosses the Lac des Deux Montagnes between Senneville and Vaudreuil-Dorion. He is pleased that he managed to cut the planning process for the project by 18 months, as he promised last year.
The announcement is made by Suzanne Roy, Minister responsible for the Montérégie region, and Soulanges deputy, La Caquiste Marilyne Picard. They will state that work will begin this summer.
According to a reliable source who was not authorized to speak publicly about the filing, the total bill to replace this two-kilometer bridge rises to 2.3 billion.
A little over a year ago, the government predicted the cost would be $1.4 billion. The Treasury Board had approved this “maximum” issuance.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Quebec Minister of Transportation Geneviève Guilbault
However, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault was forced to restart the permitting process after receiving the results of the tender. The price was around two billion, as revealed by La Presse in February1.
Quebec will confirm on Monday that Groupe Nouveau pont Île-aux-Tourtes has won the bid. This consortium consists of Roxboro Excavation, Construction Demathieu & Bard and Dragados Canada – a subsidiary of the Spanish construction giant ACS, which was involved, among other things, in the new bridge project Samuel-De Champlain.
The order is worth almost two billion dollars. Other costs are borne by the state, such as professional fees, expropriations and certain other works. This brings the total estimate of the project to 2.3 billion, according to statements to La Presse.
A “distinctive identity”
The project consists of building a new bridge north of the existing infrastructure, which will then be dismantled. There will be three lanes for cars and trucks in each direction of travel, as well as a four-meter-long hard shoulder that buses can use. A “multi-purpose path” of the same width is provided for bicycles and pedestrians. The new bridge will be ten meters wider than the current bridge.
In addition to inflation and hardware store conditions, a source consulted by La Presse in February questioned the architectural requirements imposed by Quebec to explain the bill increase.
The future bridge must be “bearer of an unmistakable identity”, according to the “Declaration on the Architectural Vision” of the project. It will be a “sustainable infrastructure with a distinctive architecture focused on harmonious integration into the landscape while respecting the quality of the surrounding natural environment. The architectural treatment and facilities will help enhance the bridge users’ driving experience and perception of the infrastructure,” adds this statement, adopted in 2020.
The preparatory work for the construction of the new bridge has been underway since February 27th. Crews are required to perform “targeted” deforestation, geotechnical drilling, and work related to the transportation of utility equipment.
Inevitable remodeling
Options other than reconstruction were explored but ruled out. Upgrading the current structure would be almost as costly and add just 15 years to its lifespan, according to the Department of Transportation. He even concluded that the surgery would pose a high risk. A reconstruction then became inevitable.
The two-kilometre-long bridge between Senneville and Vaudreuil-Dorion, which has been in use since 1965, is in poor condition. It’s “at the end of its lifespan,” according to the Department of Transportation’s diagnosis. He recommended in 2018 that a “major intervention project be undertaken as soon as possible” given the multiplication of “deficiencies” he had observed at the bridge for several years.
The maintenance of this bridge costs a small fortune and must continue until the new bridge is operational, which will be phased in between 2026 and 2029. Quebec has spent nearly $180 million since 2016 repairing beams and slabs, among other things. Around 200 million more are to be built in the next few years.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
View from the side of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge towards Vaudreuil-Dorion, May 2021
In late December, Quebec ordered one lane closed in each direction because “certain existing cracks on the side of the bridge are progressing toward Vaudreuil-Dorion.” For safety reasons, there was an emergency closure of the bridge in May 2021.
The measures taken by the Ministry of Transport are causing dissatisfaction in the region’s communities, where traffic congestion is severe during rush hours, as we explained in February. Due to the bridge work, the Autoroute 20, which becomes a boulevard in the Vaudreuil-Dorion sector, is heavily frequented. We demand a bypass.