The provincial government announced a big investment into Montreal’s roads on Wednesday.
Over the next two years, over $1 billion will be spent to renovate the road network. The announcement was made at a press conference held by Transport Minister Andre Fortin and Minister Responsible for the Montreal Region Martin Coiteux.
The investment won’t just pay for repaving pot-hole stricken roads but will also fund the rebuilding of the foundations of several roadways using concrete, which while more expensive, is also more durable.
"When it's a highway that has a high volume of trucks, it will deteriorate faster," said Fortin. "It's something that we do have to take into account."
Among the problem areas listed by the Transport Ministry is a segment of Highway 40 between Ile-Aux-Tourtes Bridge and St-Charles Blvd.
The bridge, which is over 50 years old, will be closely monitored and Transport Quebec will spend up to $25 million over the next two years to maintain it.
Plans to replace the bridge won't be finalized until at least 2020.
A similar sum will be spent to maintain the Lafontaine Tunnel.
The money will also fund the construction of several new highways, including the reconstruction of the Galeries-d’Anjou Blvd.’s overpasses, the Turcot reconstruction and the rebuilding of Highway 13 over Highway 40.
Also included in the project are the replacement of some surveillance cameras, fixing street lighting and fixing several highway signage structures on the island.
In total, 63 projects will receive funding and the Transport Ministry estimated it will create over 7,700 jobs.
