Vaudreuil

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The Ile-aux-Tourtes bridge lane closures and intermittent full-closures are having devastating consequences on residents living in neighbouring communities. In an interview with the MTQ, spokeperson Sarah Bensadoun stated that she was “astonished” at the implication of The Suburban‘s questions on behalf of residents that were interviewed and stated that multiple public consultations took place beginning in 2015 until 2021 prior to the planned work. When asked why the MTQ did not start the work on the new bridge earlier to avoid the traffic-devastating effects on road users, Bensadoun again repeated that she was “shocked” at the question as the MTQ had conducted all the public consultations and that the construction was in their best interest.

When asked again, why the new bridge was not built before half of the existing bridge would need to be closed to traffic for repairs, Bensadoun said that the annual inspections prior to the more recent ones did not reveal that the bridge would be in such bad shape. The current situation with the existing bridge was not discussed in the public consultation meetings that Bensadoun kept referring to as she stated that the MTQ was unaware that the bridge was reaching its “end of life” prior to recent inspections. On the other hand, Bensadoun also stated that it is perfectly normal that the bridge would reach its end of life stage after 50 years.

According to members of local communities, it was obvious that the bridge was falling apart as it needed to be closed for repairs to the structure on dozens of occasions during the consultation period from 2015 to 2021 that Bensadoun kept referring to while speaking with The Suburban. “This is a symptom of a much larger malaise,” Chris from St Lazare said to The Suburban. “It is obvious that the bridge was falling apart long before they started the work.”

Steve and his wife, also from St-Lazare, say that they are missing out on time with their grandchildren. “We used to just drive over to Kirkland and around the West Island to spend time with them, to help out their parents or go to watch them participate at their activities. My kids used to come once a week and that has not been possible for months.”

Jessica from Rigaud suffered through hours of traffic while experiencing a high risk pregnancy. “My doctor was at the Lakeshore and I needed to get to my appointments a few times a week. I had to turn back home a few times because my body could not handle it.” Jessica said that after the baby was born and required medical attention on a regular basis, travelling was painful. “Can you imagine driving on that bridge with a newborn crying in the back seat?”

Athena from St-Lazare, representing a group of parents preparing to petition for access to the bus lane, says that students belonging to Anglophone public schools are often enrolled on-island as there is limited space for them off-island. “We are carpooling and doing the best we can. There are no bus services available to us and this is an issue that predominantly affects the Anglophone community with children attending public schools. There is no consideration given to circumstances affecting people living in the surrounding communities.”

Sophie, a single mom from Vaudreuil, says that the bridge situation has affected the custody agreement for her children. “From October to March, between the bridge and the bus strikes, it was difficult for them to come see me and spend time at my place.” Since the children’s father lives closer to their on-island Anglophone school, the kids remained primarily with their father, though they were supposed to have shared time with their mother.

Many residents also state the the signage is not clear enough from a distance where trucks passing through may not be aware ahead of time of the ever-changing situation. Susan from St-Lazare was injured in an accident on her way home from work in Pointe-Claire where her car was totaled after it was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler truck while her vehicle was at the end of the line in standstill traffic. “He came out of nowhere, crashed into me and propelled my car into the one in front of me. I leave for work now two hours early to avoid the traffic because this caused me so much anxiety. My hands are shaking just talking about it.”

Next week, The Suburban will be speaking with local community leaders and officials concerning the public consultations. Follow us at thesuburban.com or download our app for updates. n