More than $4.8 billion granted to improve road users’ safety and quality of life

2018-2020 roadwork plan

QUÉBEC CITY, March 2, 2018 – The Government of Quebec will invest more than $4.8 billion in Quebec’s road network between 2018 and 2020 in order to provide safe, reliable and sustainable infrastructure for road users while contributing to our collective economic development.

Today, André Fortin, Minister of Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Electrification, and Véronyque Tremblay, Minister for Transport, outlined these major investments in Trois-Rivières. The investments by the government and its partners will make it possible to carry out road projects that meet the needs of families and businesses. In particular, the projects will aim to:

Keep you safe on the roads

The plan involves projects to reduce the risk or severity of road accidents. These can include installing traffic lights, building roundabouts, installing street lights or building installations for large animals.

Improve our road network

This program also provides for investments to improve the current road network by renovating intersections, adding turning lanes and straightening curves.

Maintain our infrastructure

The government will take concrete steps to maintain the assets that make up our infrastructure, by repairing or replacing bridges and culverts, sealing cracks, and adding gravel to raise shoulders.

Provide a more comfortable drive

Other projects will aim to make families more comfortable when travelling, particularly through all kinds of paving work and also by rebuilding road bases.

Improve your quality of life

Several projects from the 2018–2020 plan have this as a goal, which can include building a bypass for urban areas and improving the flow of traffic.

Contribute to our collective economic development

This program includes several initiatives which will equip regions to maximize their economic development potential, for example, by building new highways or strategic roads.

Promote the development of active transportation

As part of a comprehensive vision of transportation, the Ministry also plans to fully integrate the development of active transportation into transportation systems, for example by paving shoulders and building footbridges and bike paths.

Quotes:

This roadwork plan is much more than just big numbers. It’s the ability to mobilize the expertise and knowledge of thousands of workers to deliver projects that will have a real impact on families’ quality of life. It is also a lever for crucial economic development in each region. I am proud to present our regions with an investment plan that will allow our network’s users to enjoy safe, reliable and sustainable road infrastructure.

André Fortin, Minister of Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Electrification

Our plan shows that we are acting in road users’ best interest. A safe, well-maintained and efficient road network really makes a difference in families’ daily lives. We are also making sure that our investments generate collective wealth in Quebec’s regions and give businesses opportunities to develop their full potential.

Véronyque Tremblay, Minister for Transport

Key facts:

This $4.8 billion investment represents an increase of $200 million compared to investments in 2017–2019.

Out of these investments, $533 million from our partners will fund:

• the creation of 2,119 work sites
• the creation or maintenance of 31,661 jobs

The number of Ministry structures that will be undergo roadwork:

• Ministry’s network: 674
• Municipal network: 263

The Ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité Durable et de l’Électrification des Transports is a leader in highway system and municipal bridge management. As the biggest work provider in Quebec, the Ministry includes more than 6,000 employees, 60% of whom work mainly in the planning, design and realization of roadwork within its scope.

Related links:

The details of the investments are available on the Ministry’s website: https://www.transports.gouv.qc.ca/en/Pages/Home.aspx.