Hanes: New Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge ought to be despatched again to the drafting board

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Given the day by day distress of motorists who use the congested and decrepit Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge, you’d suppose the disclosing of plans for the model new span final week would have come as a welcome aid.

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As an alternative, they went over with a little bit of a thud.

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The previous bridge, alongside Freeway 40 between Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue and Vaudreuil-Dorion, is on its final legs. (No exaggeration.) And since December, building work to prop it up has decreased capability to 2 lanes in every route, leading to monster jams. The hope {that a} fifth lane could be added come spring to ease rush-hour site visitors evaporated with the final of the snow. The Île-aux-Tourtes can’t but take any extra load, so this mitigation measure must wait till summer time — at finest.

Changing the hyperlink utilized by 8,700 automobiles a day is pressing. And preparatory work has already begun within the hope that a part of the brand new construction can open by 2026, and the remaining by the tip of the last decade.

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Nonetheless, few annoyed drivers had been impressed with the design of the Île-aux-Tourtes 2.0. Primarily, it’s as a result of the brand new incarnation will not be a lot totally different than the previous mannequin, inbuilt 1965: three lanes in every route for automobiles; no area put aside for a potential extension of the REM to the west; and no devoted carpool or transit arteries. Buses can use the shoulder throughout peak durations — so long as no accidents or stalls are blocking the way in which.

There may be one enchancment: a mixed-use bike and pedestrian path on one facet, which can reinforce lively mobility. So at the least that’s one thing.

However in any other case Quebec is swapping outdated Twentieth-century infrastructure for one thing that isn’t extra trendy or future-proof. It looks like a missed alternative — particularly given the prices have ballooned to $2.3 billion.

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The shortage of ambition for this crucial piece of infrastructure is all of the extra jarring as a result of timing.

Additionally final week, the Legault authorities determined that the hotly disputed Troisième Lien, between Quebec Metropolis and its south-shore suburb of Lévis, will now be a tunnel for public transit solely, slightly than for automobiles.

It’s a no brainer, given the astronomical value and severe environmental influence of the controversial mission. However Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec stubbornly insisted throughout final yr’s election marketing campaign that it could go forward, come hell or excessive water. So the scaling again of the pet mission marked a major climb down politically. Legault is now dealing with inner occasion strife and public anger over the damaged promise.

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Nonetheless, he confirmed outstanding imaginative and prescient in choosing a greener mannequin centered on public transit for commuters from Lévis. Legault was lauded by a few of his fiercest critics for adapting the plan for the Troisième Lien.

If solely the federal government might apply the identical “braveness” to the brand new Île-aux-Tourtes Bridge.

Vaudreuil-Soulanges, off the western tip of the island of Montreal, is among the fastest-growing areas of Quebec. If the Île-aux-Tourtes is so busy now, what’s it going to be like in a couple of extra years?

Worse, the brand new design promotes the established order when it comes to car use when it ought to be encouraging extra individuals to make use of public transit with this necessary funding.

The off-island area doesn’t have an abundance of transit selections. Exo runs commuter trains into downtown Montreal alongside the Freeway 20 hall and some specific buses have fortunately been added due to the latest bridge mess. However anybody travelling the Freeway 40 axis lacks choices in the intervening time.

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Issues will change drastically, nevertheless, when the primary incarnation of the REM enters into service within the coming yr or so. The ultimate cease within the West Island might be Anse-à-l’Orme station within the northern a part of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue — only a hop, skip and leap from the Île-aux-Tourtes. It defies logic that connecting this brand-new electrical gentle rail line piloted by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to off-island communities — now and sooner or later — has not been taken into consideration within the bridge plans.

Within the quick time period, there ought to be devoted specific lanes for shuttle riders to the REM station. In the long run, the road ought to be extended. There’s a petition calling for this risk to be included within the design of the brand new bridge — earlier than it’s too late. The excuse {that a} separate bridge might be constructed if the REM is ever prolonged invitations skepticism.

Quebec ought to guarantee the brand new Île-aux-Tourtes serves the inhabitants lengthy into the long run. The present mannequin doesn’t lower it.

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