Published June 20, 2024

JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report

The temporary closure and repairing of a footbridge along the Soulanges Canal bike path this summer is part of the restoration process for the historic Petit Pouvoir hydroelectric power station in Les Cèdres, government officials have confirmed.

As of Monday, the portion of the cycle path that runs alongside the station – between Chemin St. Dominique and Chemin St. Emmanuel – is closed. Cyclists and pedestrians are being redirected via Chemin du Fleuve, just south of the canal. Transport Quebec predicts construction to be completed and the path reopened by the end of July.

The ministry confirmed to The 1019 Report that the work is part of a restoration project for the Petit Pouvoir building, the canal’s original hydroelectric power plant that powered the waterway’s mechanical locks. It is one of only four hydroelectric power plants built in Quebec before 1900.

The work along the footbridge near the old power plant building is regarded as a “preliminary stage” of the provincial government’s plan to restore the historic building’s “architectural and structural integrity,” said Karine Abdel, a communications adviser for the Transport Ministry.

When asked about the possibility of the old power station being turned into a site that would cater to tourists, Abdel said no such scenario could yet be confirmed.

Following the building’s restoration, Abdel said that the ministry will “look for a partner who can operate this heritage building in a viable and sustainable way.”

The Petit Pouvoir station operated from 1899 to 1959. Recognized as a heritage building in 1984, it has remained vacant since 1995.

In a 2020 academic publication, historian Luc Noppen described the two-storey red brick structure as having been built in the classic “French Romanesque Revival style.” The structure includes turrets, semicircular arched windows, and quoins and cornices made of ashlar stone along the facade.

The Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications characterizes the style of the building as having a “medieval spirit,” and had become a brand image of Canadian architecture in the late 1800s.

In 2021, the MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges and Transport Quebec announced an agreement to revitalize the canal, transforming it into a vast regional park that stretches along the 23 kilometres of the historic waterway. The work to revitalize the canal is expected to be carried out over several years.

The man-made waterway was first opened in 1899, and traces its way along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River – from Pointe des Cascades to Coteaux Landing. Originally designed to bypass the rapids between Lake St. Louis and Lake St. Francis, it operated until 1959, when it was replaced by the Beauharnois Canal.

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