Quebec announces $206 million for Estrie roads
The Quebec Ministry of Transportation (MTQ) unveiled its annual investment plan for roads and highway infrastructure in the Estrie region last week, announcing over $206 million in funding for projects over the next two years. The announcement was made Friday by Minister of the Family and Minister responsible for the Estrie, and Sherbrooke Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Luc Fortin with fellow MNAS Karine Vallières (Richmond), Guy Hardy (Saint-françois), and Pierre Reid (Orford.)
"The investments announced today demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that our government is always there to support major public infrastructure projects,” said Fortin. ”I am thinking of the completion of the last phase of Highway 410, the investment of $26 million for the reconstruction of the Grandesfourches Bridge in downtown Sherbrooke, and the repair work on the Jacques-cartier Bridge that will begin soon. This is decisive support for the development of the city of Sherbrooke and the entire Estrie region."
The 2018-2020 plan includes funding for upkeep of road surfaces, bridge reconstruction, traffic light installation, and highway resurfacing as well as money for major projects like the moving of the Grandes-fourches Bridge in Sherbrooke as well as the completion of the Highway 410 extension.
A few of the more noteworthy projects on the list include work on the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Sherbrooke, the reconstruction of the Main Street Bridge in North Hatley, and a complete resurfacing of Highway 610 from one end to the other.
The program aims to improve the existing road network by redeveloping intersections, adding turning lanes or turning curves. As a result, paving work involving the correction of inclines on curves will be undertaken in several municipalities to provide road users with safer travel.
In total, the investment program is expected to create 115 worksites and 1,315 jobs with projects that will affect 17 ministry-controlled structures and 25 in municipal networks.