Turcot Interchange, Quebec Government Taken Hostage

On that issue, the Quebec Government is taken hostage by many pressure groups. What brought us to this point? The current government is not the only one to blamed but all previous administrations, paid by our taxes. All the Commissions, Public hearings, the weigh of the administration in general when it comes to do road infrastructures.

This interchange may not have been is such a bad shape if a beltway around Montreal, A-30, would have been done when initially planned. It would be outdated today but at least, it would have saved many years of wear on the road infrastructures of Montreal. It took the Natives Crisis in 1990 to have the loop made around the Kanawake Reservation. This is not counting the cost of the law enforcement to protect the perimeter of the reserve, about $30M.

The Turcot interchange is today’s result of the complacency of the Government towards the population. Preferring the citizen that barely uses this infrastructure to the profits, or should I say loses, of the one making the economy go forward. For the trucking and the intermodal industries, the Turcot Interchange is one of the most important road links in the Province. It’s the link to all major container rail yards to the Montreal Harbour and the link between the Atlantic Provinces to the rest of Canada.

Will we have to go trough another tragedy like the overpass of “de la Concorde” to do something? If this happens during the rush hours, it’s by the dozens we will count the fatalities this time. Just like for that overpass that collapsed, an emergency repair plan is going to be made, the work done and nobody will have a say on it.

Other then the A-30, there is many road infrastructure plans that have been put on hold for so long. The day the first vehicle will roll on it, it will be outdated

The Ville Marie Autoroute is another nice example I can comment on with facts. My father was a store owner selling office furniture on Notre Dame Street at the corner of Valois. In early 1972 the business was expropriated to make place for this Autoroute. Today, 37 years later, it is still Notre Dame Street. In 1985, I was a citizen of Laval. We were promised that the A-25 Bridge would be running by the turn of the century. The access roads have been under construction since last year. Nose around and you may find plenty of these.

Let’s all get together and say a big thank you to all these Naysayer groups that opposes anything the government proposes. Issues that can restart the economy here, create jobs and all of that for the sake of their belly buttons or their NIMBY Syndrome (Not In My Back Yard).

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