Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
GASPÉ – It will be 2026 before Quebec adopts a decree related to the Intervention Program for the Protection of Infrastructures Against Coastal Hazards by the Ministry of Transport (MTQ).
Studies have been underway since 2021 to protect, among other things, Highway 132 in the Gaspé Peninsula from erosion and coastal submersion.
Due to climate change, the ministry predicts that in Lower Saint Lawrence and the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands, 139 kilometres of roads will be vulnerable to erosion, and 176 kilometres will be susceptible to submersion.
In the project notice filed in July 2021, the ministry noted that recent events highlighted the need to ensure road user mobility and carry out preventive interventions. The document estimated 273 vulnerable coastal sites in the long term.
The impact study which has been in progress for nearly three years, is expected to be submitted by the end of the summer, according to the Ministry of Transport, which will indicate when the document will be available.
A series of procedures will follow before Quebec adopts the decree. Thus, the documents admissibility must be reviewed by the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks and the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) will also examine the document.
Once these two steps have been completed, the report and recommendations will be analyzed by the government, and the Ministry of Transport expects the decree to be adopted in 2026.
Routine interventions by the ministry, such as repairs to retaining walls along Highway 132 on the north side of the Gaspé will continue normally.
Every new project will have to be the subject of requests for different ministerial authorizations by the MTQ.
On the north side of the peninsula, specific issues related to the inhabited areas near rivers, access difficulties due to the topography with cliffs, high exposure of the coasts to winds and waves and the road’s dependence are the main factors in the reflection.
On the south side, *mariculture exploitation, the concentration of salmon rivers and maintaining water access are highlighted in the planning. The impact study will allow for segmenting sites according to the vulnerability and the planning of the required work.
Once the decree is adopted, several steps will need to be completed for the new intervention sites.
The feasibility studies should take between four and 16 months, followed by design studies lasting 12 to 36 months, plans and specifications for 12 to 36 months and the construction.
With a decree adopted in 2026, the work for the new structures would, at best, only begin in 2028 or 2029.
Consultations are still underway for the vast project, which has been divided into four sub-regions: Lower Saint Lawrence, Northern Gaspé Peninsula, Southern Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands.
The link for submitting comments can be found on the ministry’s website. In an interview in early 2023, the former territorial director of the Transport Ministry, Yves Berger, indicated that riverbank erosion would be the biggest transportation issue in the Gaspé Peninsula over the next 25 years. He indicated that this issue would require “major investments”.
Projects are being prepared for both the northern and southern sides of the peninsula. Mr. Berger indicated that in recent years, $20 million has been invested to address climate change.
*mariculture – a type of farming in which fish or other sea animals and plants are kept or grown for food.