MONTREAL - A serious structural flaw, rather than a minor design defect, is what forced the Transport Quebec to make emergency repairs on the Turcot Interchange, according to a report.
La Presse reported Thursday that those responsible for supervising the work discovered the elevated highway is missing steel supports.
The problem is similar to the one that caused the collapse of the Concorde overpass in Laval in September 2006, a tragedy that left five dead and six wounded.
But one expert said that doesn't mean drivers should be worried about the structure collapsing.
Saeed Mirza, an engineering professor at McGill University, told CTV Montreal the structure is different from the Concorde and relatively safe, especially because traffic levels have been reduced while repairs are underway.
Mirza says that even if a steel bar was placed further apart than initially planned, it would not necessarily lead to tragedy.
In the event that a bar was placed too far apart, "there would be a diagonal crack appearing and so long as there are enough bars crossing that diagonal crack, the system will be relatively safe, even if we have cracking on it," he said.
Transport Quebec disputed the report in La Presse, saying the steel bars are actually in the structure, just not in the proper place.
Still, the problem is different from the one described by Transport Quebec two weeks ago. Transport Quebec had indicated that the engineers responsible for inspecting and maintaining the ramp of the interchange had found "some structural damage, " including cracks in concrete.
Work began earlier this month on the two-lane stretch of highway, forcing one lane closed between the Decarie Expressway and Cote St. Paul exits.
Transport Quebec said at the time the repairs would take about two months, and Transportation Minister Sam Hamad said there was no need for concern.
"We never put the security in danger for all people in Montreal," he said.
"We keep the security very important for us. We do inspections everyday on the Turcot infrastructure."
