Quebec Minister of Transport Geneviève Guilbault confirmed the rumor that had been circulating in recent days about changing the orientation of the Québec-Lévis tunnel project. Therefore, the third link, which provided for a city-centre highway link between the two banks, will instead become a link reserved exclusively for local public transport, the minister announced on April 20.

This significant change in one of the key commitments of the region’s elected CAQ members represents a “difficult but responsible decision”, argued the deputy for riding Louis-Hébert. These are new studies published at the end of March on the habits of motorists using the Pierre-Laporte and Quebec bridges that motivated the government’s decision to opt for a tunnel for public transport.

“We have not resumed life as it has been since the pandemic, which is bringing changes in locomotion,” Ms Guilbault said. According to the latest data, travel times between the two banks have decreased, as have waiting times on the Quebec Bridge and the number of motorists using the two bridges on a daily basis.

In 2022, an average of 107,000 vehicles crossed the Pierre Laporte Bridge daily, compared to 126,000 in 2019. On the Quebec Bridge side, they used 31,000 vehicles daily in 2022, compared to 33,000 in 2019. During peak periods, 63,000 vehicles used the two bridges daily in 2022 compared to 74,900 in 2019.

“With really efficient public transport between our two banks (we noticed) we cannibalize the road tunnel. With data suggesting fewer people are travelling, travel taking less time and a possible efficient public transport tunnel that would create a real modal shift […]That, along with the financial aspect that should not be neglected, prompted us to make the decision presented today,” explained the Minister of Transport.

A connection to be maintained between the two banks

With this project, the state government wants to develop attractive and interesting public transport in order to reduce the modal share of the car in the region’s road network.

“The more traffic we are able to efficiently route into our future public transport tunnel, the more the bridges will be relieved and that will ensure that we improve the flow,” she stressed.

However, the Ministère des Transport is back on the drawing board as it needs to re-evaluate the route to make it optimal for public transit while connecting downtown Québec and Lévis. Also, the government agency will examine the various forms of public transport offered in this tunnel and will work out the timetable for future works.

“(This project) is the best vision of the future we can have right now with the numbers of the pandemic and the lifestyle changes,” Ms Guilbault reiterated.

The Transport Minister also recalled the desire of the elected caquistes in the region to develop a “strong” metropolitan economic zone between the two banks and their metropolitan vision of mobility.

“I would like to reiterate very clearly and strongly our desire as a government to improve both mobility and the flow between our two coasts. We have always said that we want to have a regional vision, a network of regional mobility, that’s why we proposed the Réseau express de la Capitale project,” she added.

studies

For the sake of transparency, Geneviève Guilbault argued that this decision was based “on around forty studies and reports” conducted and carried out since the Third Link project began.

These are notably available on the Réseau Express de la Capitale website and include “8,000 pages of studies and reports” on this link between the rivals.