Quebec budget for road repairs in Laval is $65 million

The Charest Liberals plan to spend $65 million this summer upgrading and repairing highways and overpasses in the Laval region. In all, the transport ministry has 14 work sites staked out where roadways will be repaved and rebuilt and major improvements such as reconstruction of overpasses will also be carried out.

Major projects
Among the major projects, the overpasses that carry Dagenais and Saint-Elzéar boulevards over Autoroute 15 will be rebuilt. The roadway of the Lachapelle Bridge, which links Laval with Montreal via Route 117, will be rebuilt.
The overpass which carries Montée Saint-François over Autoroute 25 will also be reconstructed, and the roadway on Pont Viau from Laval to Montreal (Route 335) will be rebuilt. In Laval’s western end, the transport ministry plans to overhaul the intersection of des Bois Ave. and Arthur-Sauvé Blvd.
Other roads projects: The lighting system along Autoroute 13 from the Louis-Bisson Bridge northward to Notre-Dame Blvd. will be replaced. Repaving will take place on Autoroute 25 North between the A-40 and Mille-Îles Blvd. Repaving will also take place on Autoroute 25 South from Mille-Îles Blvd. to Marcel-Villeneuve Ave.

An annual rite
Quebec’s announcement each spring of its roadwork in Laval is an annual ritual which carries weight politically-speaking. The amount the government spends in each region of the province is proportionate to the number of public works contracts awarded and blue collar jobs created. While elections may often be years off, local MNAs, especially those who sit with the government, hope to score points with constituents through the roadwork and raise their degree of popularity a few notches.

In this case, Fabre Liberal MNA Michèle Courchesne, who is also Minister Responsible for the Laval Region, estimates that 927 jobs will either be maintained or created in Laval as a by-product of the roadwork. She sees the government’s spending as an important part of a continuing economic recovery plan. According to the transport ministry, more than 72 per cent of Quebec’s provincially-maintained roadways are in good shape this year, with 66 per cent of bridges and overpasses being up to grade, compared to 53 per cent five years ago.