One of the largest road construction sites in Quebec is currently on Laurier Boulevard in Sainte-Foy.
This is one of the stages of all work on the future tram, which will take place over a period of five years.
There is a lot of activity at the entrance to Boulevard Laurier, where there is a lot of heavy machinery at work on the southern part of the artery, between Avenue de Lavigerie and Route de l’Église. The City of Quebec’s goal is to prepare the ground for the upcoming work for the introduction of the streetcar, but that’s not all.
“We will renew the entire underground infrastructure. “We have to move them so that they don’t end up under the tram platform,” says Marie-Claude Jean, department manager in the tram project office.
With the redesign of the subway network, the city is taking the opportunity to adapt to new environmental standards, in particular through larger storm pipes.
“They are almost 3 meters in diameter. They will catch rainwater, it will help to better manage it and prevent it from going into the river,” Ms Jean explains.
Although traffic impacts are unavoidable, the city tries to reduce them as much as possible. The aim of this work is also to prepare the next stages of the tram project in the northern part of this section of Laurier Boulevard.
“We are widening Boulevard Laurier on the south side. This will serve to maintain some traffic flow when we go to work on the north side of the boulevard,” says Marie-Claude Jean.
For some traders in the industry, including restaurateurs, the impact on customers is obvious.
“It is very difficult to have people on the terrace as there is too much dust. Traffic will definitely decrease,” says Jonathan Bélanger, owner of Barbies restaurant on Laurier Boulevard.
“I would tell you that we have a customer drop of about 15%, but we fear that in July, during our peak time of the season, we will be at -30% or -40%,” adds Pierre Martin, franchisee of St Hubert, added .
While the City of Quebec has a program to compensate companies affected by major infrastructure work, this does not apply to the work currently underway on Laurier Boulevard. A program that, according to the city, is being reassessed in view of the actual works to implement the tram, which should start in 2024 in this sector.