Repair work to begin on Quebec Bridge this summer

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Now that the federal government officially owns the Quebec Bridge, work will begin next year on the long-term job of repairing and restoring the historic structure.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement and MP for Québec Jean-Yves Duclos convened a news conference on Nov. 12 to announce a deal had been signed that day between the federal government and Canadian National Railway (CN) for the “repatriation” of the bridge.

The federal government announced its intention to purchase the bridge for a symbolic dollar at a ceremony in May attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The bridge had been owned by CN since 1995.

Responsibility for the maintenance and repainting of the bridge had been in a stalemate for years before Ottawa, through the work of negotiator Yvon Charest, decided to return the structure to federal hands.

At the news conference, held at a pavilion on Promenade Samuel-De Champlain,

Duclos said, “By repatriating this essential link, we are ensuring that the bridge can continue to benefit not only our country’s economy but also the users and residents of the greater Quebec City region who have been using this bridge for their daily commute for over a century. Today, we’re giving the bridge back to Quebecers.”

Also attending the ceremony were Louis-Hébert MP Joël Lightbound, in whose riding the bridge is situated, and Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand.

The management and rehabilitation of the bridge have been assigned to a federal entity, Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), which, as the title suggests, oversees major bridges in Montreal.

A release said, “JCCBI will work closely with the two other partners and users of the Quebec Bridge, CN, which remains responsible for the rail corridor, and the Quebec government, which remains responsible for the road corridor and bicycle path. A collaboration agreement between these three partners will be drawn up to optimize co-ordination and ensure the completion of all activities on the Quebec Bridge.”

JCCBI spokesperson Nathalie Lessard told the QCT that the first step in a long process will be “an inspection program that will include the assessment of the load-bearing capacity of the structure. All this technical information that we are going to gather over probably the next two years will enable us to prepare a rehabilitation plan for the Quebec Bridge.”

Lessard said a “mode of collaboration” needs to be established with CN and the Quebec Ministry of Transportation (MTQ). “We’re not alone on that structure. The MTQ owns and operates the road deck and the CN owns and operates the train deck.”

At the news conference, reporters asked about the capacity of the bridge to handle heavy vehicles such as transport trucks, a matter that is pertinent to the Quebec government’s plan to build a third link, most likely a bridge.

Premier François Legault has stated a new bridge is essential to the economic security of the province in the event the Pierre Laporte Bridge is closed for any reason.

Duclos reiterated his view, based on studies, that the Quebec Bridge could be adapted to accommodate heavy traffic.

Sandra Martel, the CEO of JCCBI, agreed it would be possible in terms of an engineering challenge, but it is up to Quebec transport officials to consider such an option.

Lessard said, “The bridge itself can handle quite a heavy load because trains already commute on that bridge, so the load-bearing capacity of the bridge is sufficient to handle that. What we don’t know on our side of things is all the technical details regarding the deck itself, that’s really the MTQ that has all of this information and we haven’t talked to them, so it’s really too early.”

As for the long-delayed paint job for the Quebec Bridge, Lessard compared it to how long it took to paint the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal.

“The interesting thing is that the Jacques Cartier Bridge is about three kilometres long and the Quebec Bridge is about one kilometre long, but the amount of steel on the Quebec Bridge is pretty much equivalent to the Jacques Cartier Bridge. It’s pretty easy to compare in terms of the quantity of steel that will need to be taken care of, so it took about 15 years to cover the entire Jacques Cartier Bridge.”

The Quebec Bridge, opened in 1919, handles an average 33,000 vehicles per day, including 400 public transit buses carrying 6,000 passengers daily.