Half of Quebec's roads are in poor condition: AG report

Quebec City -

Half of Quebec's roads are in poor condition, and in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Chaudières-Appalaches and the Outaouais, the proportion rises to two-thirds, according to Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc.

Leclerc presented a report to the National Assembly on Thursday, stating that some 15,000 kilometres of roadway are in poor condition. Of that amount, 8,075 kilometres have reached the end of their service life.

At a press conference, she voiced her concern at the accelerating deterioration of the road network. Still, she pointed out that there is no public danger "in the short term" as work is being carried out to make the roads safe.

"It's true that from year to year, when you do remedial work, and you're not able to do in-depth rehabilitation, well, it's a bit like dragging out the problems," said Assistant Auditor General Jacques Hébert.

They maintain that the good condition of the road network is "essential" to ensure the "efficient and safe mobility of people and goods, as well as to promote access to the territory, its occupation and the development of the regions."

The work carried out by the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) is "insufficient," with the result that the asset maintenance deficit has increased by $3 billion since 2018, to reach $10 billion, the report stated.

This represents "more than a quarter of Quebec's overall public infrastructure deficit," wrote Leclerc, who also asserts that the "ministry has not evaluated the investments needed to bring this deficit under control."

If it continues to grow at this rate, it could reach nearly $17.5 billion by 2027.

According to the auditor general, work that would help ensure the network's long-term viability is "not planned." And if they are, "a significant portion of them are postponed without being carried out."

Three of the MTQ's territorial branches visited by the auditor had not planned any projects for pavement segments requiring major interventions, the report pointed out.

Abitibi-Témiscamingue is said to have the worst roads; last year, 65.1 per cent of its roads were in poor condition, compared with 61.4 per cent for the Chaudières-Appalaches region and 60 per cent for the Outaouais.

The Auditor General also points out that the MTQ is not making "optimal" use of its innovation resources. As a result, the projects chosen may not be those that best meet the challenges, she points out.

She made several recommendations:

• Improve the information provided by the ministry on the condition of the road network to enable government authorities to assess the evolution of pavement conditions;
• Identify indicators, projection models and targets that will enable the ministry to assess the levels of investment required;
• Ensure that territorial branches plan and carry out the major rehabilitation work required to meet departmental targets;
• Determine criteria for selecting the most promising innovative projects in line with the challenges facing the ministry, particularly in pavement conservation, and rigorously assess the added value of these projects.

The ministry said it welcomed Leclerc's conclusions. "Pavement conservation ... presents challenges faced by few administrations ... in the world: an extensive network over a vast territory, low population density and often difficult and highly variable weather conditions," it said.  

• Listen on CJAD 800 Radio: Mulcair: half of the roads in Quebec are in bad shape

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 23, 2023.