The driver of a vehicle that caught fire in the Lafontaine Tunnel on Thursday morning is going to pay a hefty price for his error.
Not only is he getting slapped with demerit points and a traffic ticket, he's also going to have to cover the cost of replacing kilometres of burned electrical cables.
The engine of a small recreational vehicle pulling a trailer caught fire around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, forcing the closure of the northbound tunnel for several hours.
Traffic was restored for the evening rush hour, and again on Friday morning, but during the day and overnight traffic was limited to just one lane while transportation officials made repairs to three kilometres of burned electrical cables.
The smoke and flames also damaged lights along a 500-metre section of tunnel.
The bill for repairs will be given to the driver of the truck.
"The responsibility of the damage is going to be charged to the person who provoked this damage. Each time you make damage inappropriately you have to pay for it, so the bill is going to go directly to that person or their insurance," said Transportation Minister Robert Poeti. In addition, the driver will be fined between $300 to $1,000, and receive nine demerit points for carrying propane through a tunnel.
The trailer was loaded with two propane tanks, one large and one small, carrying a total of about 200 L. Fortunately they did not catch fire, but dangerous materials are not allowed to be transported through most tunnels in Quebec.
According to the highway safety code, it is forbidden to carry more than two 46-litre propane gas cylinders or more than 30 litres of gas in the Lafontaine Tunnel.
The demerit points mean the driver will have to pay additional fees when they renew their driver's licence over the next two years.
While crews are replacing cables traffic will be restricted to just one lane northbound, but they expect to finish their work soon.
All three lanes will be available during Friday's afternoon rush hour, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m., and then again as of 7 a.m. Saturday.
If repairs are not completed at that point, they will continue Monday evening.
