JOHN JANTAK
The 1019 Report
While the province of Quebec is footing the bill for the $2.6-billion price tag for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital – touted as the largest public investment project in the region’s history – taxpayers in the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion will be paying the tab for part of several infrastructure upgrades related to the project.
The upgrades will come in the form of everything from road network improvements to the building of a new water reservoir, work that will cost between $67 million and $75 million, according to city officials. But the city will only have to cover about 40 per cent of those costs, or between $26.8 million and $30 million.
“The reason why there’s still a bit of a range is because in some cases, in some of the projects, we’re still at the concept stage,” said Pierre Lacoste, the project manager of the hospital infrastructure division within the city’s engineering and environment department.
“We don’t want to make the mistake of announcing a price and not being able to meet it,” Lacoste said in an interview with The 1019 Report.
The city is working closely with the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), the project management team that is building the hospital, on all work being carried out.
Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon said the infrastructure upgrades will benefit not only Vaudreuil-Dorion, but all residents in the region when they are completed, and the hospital itself will serve the region well.
“For me, as for any mayor, this is a big, big plus. All the hospital services will be here so people will no longer have to drive to the Lakeshore. I know the citizens will be happy to see the results of having a new modern hospital with all the technologies,” Pilon said.
Among the roadwork planned as part of the hospital project is the reconfiguration of the intersection of De la Gare and Cité des Jeunes boulevards, expansion of the city’s water and sewage networks and adding a new water reservoir to expand the municipality’s water capacity.
Lacoste said Quebec will pay roughly 60 per cent of the cost for all the work that is undertaken in the city by channelling the funds to the provincial departments involved in each part, including the health and transport ministries.
The funds are managed by the provincial treasury and distributed through the appropriate ministries involved, Lacoste said.
The city will pay for the full cost of upgrading the roadways in its territory, while the Transport Ministry will pay for the portion of roadway along the Highway 30 exit ramp.
The city will, however, have to pay the entire cost to reconfigure the intersection at Henry Ford Street and Cité des Jeunes, near the hospital.
“Henry Ford is a municipal intersection which belongs to the municipality and the city manages it,” Lacoste said.
“Things that are under the transport ministry will be paid by the SQI and the city will pay for everything on its territory,” Lacost said. “The SQI, through the Conseil de Trésor, are paying roughly 59 to 60 percent of the work that has to be done in the city,” Lacoste added.
One project that is almost completed is the reconfiguration of Chemin de la Petite Rivière at Route 340, west of Highway 30.
The roadway was straightened at the intersection to align with the hospital entrance and a right turn lane onto Route 340 east (Harwood) was added.
The 404-bed hospital, which is expected to open in the beginning of 2027, will create 10,034 jobs between now and 2026, according to a study prepared last year by Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the regional economic agency, and the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie Ouest. Once opened, the hospital will also generate 3,200 permanent positions, including doctors, nurses and orderlies. According to the study, the facility and the jobs it creates will trigger more than 1,600 households to relocate to Vaudreuil-Soulanges, leading to a major real estate boom and allowing municipalities to collect more in property taxes.
The facility will have an annual operating budget of $465 million, including $330 million in salaries and benefits.