Quebec announces almost $5 billion for road work

CTV Montreal: Province announces funds for roads Quebec is planning to spend $4.8 billion on maintaining aging roads and infrastructures across the province.

The old saying goes that Montreal has two seasons, winter and construction. Winter has been particularly rough this year and construction season is gearing up to be pretty difficult as well.

The government announced Sunday its list of road work priorities for the next two years, and that list includes thousands of projects across the province at a price tag of almost $5 billion.

The province and the city began Friday with by announcing the $3.7 billion to replace the Turcot Interchange, which will be the biggest and most important construction project over the next five years. Transport Minister Robert Poeti announced Sunday $4.9 billion for additional infrastructure projects in and around Montreal, mostly to fix crumbling infrastructure.

“I’m not so happy to put money on an old structure that in a few years has to be rebuilt, but what choice do we have,” he said.

In all, motorists will have to deal with 1,197 construction sites across the province over the next two years. The government will be repaving much of Hwy. 13 between the 20 and the 40. The overpass connecting Hwys.13 and 40 will have to be completely rebuilt by 2017, and the province will also fix-up the aging St. Pierre Interchange at about the same time the Turcot Interchange will be under construction. The much delayed Dorval Interchange is also expected to be completed at the end of the two-year plan.

The list of construction sites will include the Ville Marie Tunnel, where the walls are slowly chipping away. And the portion of the expressway east of Sanguinet will be covered up, as announced earlier by the city. The mayor says the city can't function economically if its infrastructure isn't up to par.

“We have to put to level our infrastructures but at the same time we need to develop for the future,” he said.

In Laval, several sections of Hwy. 15 and the 440 will be repaved, and major work will be carried out on the Lachapelle Bridge in Chomedey. On the South Shore, several overpasses will be rebuilt, including the Rolland Therrien Bridge over Hwy. 132.

Road work in Montreal 2015-2017

Road work in Montreal 2015-2017