MONTREAL—The Parti Quebecois unveiled one of the smallest infrastructure budgets in years on Wednesday, planning to spend only $5.6 billion over the next two years on the province’s roads.
Vowing to plan better, the government says it won't raise false hopes like the Liberals did by promising projects it can't afford. Representing a cut of a $1 billion annually over the previous spending plan, the new budget does not include much in the way of new projects for Montreal.
“The Turcot interchange is a very huge project that will take a very big part of our budget,” said Transport Minister Sylvain Gaudreault.
The $3.7 billion to rebuild the sprawling Turcot complex by 2020 has pretty much tapped the budget for the city, according to the minister.
“I’m prepared to say that it is a smaller budget, but it’s better,” said Gaudreault.
According to the minister, the money will be better managed over a two-year timeframe instead of the usual 12-month period.
Of the $5.6 billion budgeted: $1 billion will be spent on road maintenance; $2.3 billion goes to bridges, walls and tunnels; $525 million on road improvements; and $1.4 billion on new roads.
“We will announce in a few weeks other projects for Montreal and we will have some projects in the east of Montreal,” said Gaudreault.
The long-delayed $500 million Dorval interchange upgrade is still on schedule for 2019, but don't blame this government for the years of delays.
“The Dorval interchange is postponed but it's not our responsibility it's a lack of responsibility from previous government,” said Gaudreault.
The PQ government says the Liberals left a $1.6 billion hole in the overall budget. They also say that new, tighter rules to halt collusion in the construction industry mean a slower contract awarding process.
The government plans to unveil specifics on projects in the regions over the next few weeks, including a new announcement on the Train de l'Ouest, linking the West Island and downtown Montreal.
