In Quebec, traffic jams are again occurring, especially in the middle of the week on the city network, but also on the highways, including the Henri-IV highway, which has just been widened but is already experiencing traffic jams. Rush hours
After Le Journal made observations in recent weeks about increasing congestion on the capital’s main arteries, the city of Quebec confirmed that the situation has worsened.
“In fact, the city also noted that traffic conditions were more difficult on certain days of the week, namely Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” said spokesman Jean-Pascal Lavoie.
The city’s Transportation and Smart Mobility Department also noted last spring that the situation had returned to pre-COVID-19 conditions.
“Data collected last May showed that compared to 2019 before the pandemic, the recovery rate was 92% in the morning peak period, 101% in the midday peak period and 99% in the afternoon peak period.”
New peak time at midday
The city now states that “there are three peak times during the day,” plus lunchtime. “The traffic volume in the lunch hour is now higher than in the morning rush hour. However, they are lower than during the afternoon rush hour.”
A new data collection will be carried out this month.
Induced traffic
On the Henri-IV Nord motorway, it is not uncommon for a traffic jam to occur during the evening rush hour, stretching for several kilometers between Chemin Sainte-Foy and the Félix-Leclerc motorway. However, this infrastructure has only just been expanded. Phase two of the work, which began in 2018, was completed in 2021. This tends to demonstrate the globally scientifically measured phenomenon of induced traffic, whereby increasing capacity on a highway automatically brings more drivers to use it, leading to an increase in congestion rather than reducing it.
Data collected by the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) and provided to the Journal also shows that daily car flow on the northbound Henri-IV between the Charest highway and Wilfrid Hamel Boulevard increased by 6,300 vehicles per day between November 2017 and October 2023.
Number of vehicles is increasing
While Quebec City expects 100,000 more trips per day on its territory by 2041, we are also seeing more and more cars on our roads. According to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, the number of passenger vehicles (cars or light trucks) registered by private individuals in the national capital has been increasing steadily for 10 years. It increased from 400,208 in 2012 to 443,129 in 2022.
This does not include passenger cars used commercially or institutionally, the number of which has remained stable at around 46,500 for a decade.
THE ENLARGEMENT OF HEINRI IV IN FIGURES
– a total of $299.7 million
Phase one:
Start of 2014, end of 2016: northern section. Repair of bridges. Reconstruction of four bridges over Rideau Street and the Lorette River.
Phase two:
Beginning of 2018, end of 2021: Southern section, the busiest. Expansion to three lanes in both directions, between the Charest and Félix-Leclerc motorways. The MTQ is now carrying out the final work.
speed:
– November 2017: 55,070 vehicles/day
– October 2023: 61,390 vehicles/day
The access to the Robert-Bourassa Nord motorway was blocked on Monday. Photo Stevens LeBlanc/Journal de Quebec
Difficult access to Robert-Bourassa
The Robert Bourassa interchange was completely renovated in 2013 to ensure better traffic flow. It has become a congestion hotspot, with significant traffic jams during peak hours on its northern slip road coming from the Charest Est motorway.
The queues of vehicles are sometimes so long that they start near the Henri-IV motorway, two kilometers further west. The Ministry of Transport is well aware of this situation.
“An increase in average daily traffic on the Charest highway was observed, increasing from 17,500 vehicles per day in 2018 to 19,500 in 2023, an increase of approximately 12%,” explained MTQ spokeswoman Émilie Lord .
1500 vehicles per hour
Currently, up to 1,500 vehicles per hour travel in the area during rush hour, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., the MTQ states.
Other elements are put forward to explain the “problems of occasional congestion at peak times”.
“This sector accommodates the traffic of the Charest Est motorway as well as the traffic of a very busy local network [établissements scolaires, commerces, etc.]which reduces the capacity for freeway-freeway traffic [passer d’une autoroute à une autre, mais qui, dans ce cas-ci, accueille également des débits importants du réseau municipal, donc la vitesse s’en trouve diminuée].”
Better fluidity
The redevelopment of this transportation hub began in 2009 and was completed in 2013 at a cost of $250 million. It should ensure better traffic flow. At the time, it was considered the largest road project in the region in a quarter of a century.
Asked whether corrections to the overloaded ramp are planned, MTQ referred Le Journal to its website page listing projects planned for the next two years. No renovation is listed for this sector.
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