Quebec's long-awaited 3rd link will include a bridge and tunnel, minister says
After years of back and forth, opposition parties not buying CAQ's latest announcement
Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault confirmed Thursday that her government has chosen a central corridor between Quebec City and Lévis for the third link project, which will consist of a bridge and tunnel.
Guilbault said the chosen corridor was "the most optimal" and would connect Highway 20 and Highway 40 between Lévis and Quebec City.
"Already, there are a lot of people and enterprises and industries that are installed there," she said at a news conference.
"We have to make sure that we have the proper infrastructure to be able to serve those ambitions and that we are not stuck with the problem of Pont Pierre-Laporte [being] closed and we're not able to have all those commercial exchanges," she said.
The CAQ's announcement comes after years of discussion on the transport project.
In April 2023, the Quebec government scrapped plans to build a third link for vehicles between Quebec City and Lévis. The decision was made after Guilbault announced that the third link would be reserved for public transportation only and closed to drivers.
But six months later, after the Coalition Avenir Québec's defeat in a byelection in Quebec City's riding of Jean-Talon, Premier François Legault promised to consult with local residents, suggesting that the project could possibly be revived.
On Thursday, Guilbault said other possible corridors were studied as potential sites for the project. But she says the chosen option responded best to the project's objectives, which include economic development, boosting public transit and the shipment of goods as well as improving the flow of traffic.
Two different locations are being considered for the third link's access point in Quebec City, and a more precise route will be announced in the fall after further study, Guilbault said. While she did not reveal the cost of the project, she said ideally work would start in 2028.
The project's current form goes against a recommendation by CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of Quebec's pension fund manager. It had recommended instead a $15.5-billion public transit project and several major transport solutions for the Quebec City region.
At Thursday's news conference, Guilbault said "it's obvious" that the third link project is still needed. Referencing President Donald Trump and the tariffs he's imposed on Canada, Guilbault mentioned the need for interprovincial trade and said the new link will help foster economic growth.
'There's an advantage to working together,' says mayor
Quebec City mayor Burno Marchand said the city is interested in collaborating but has "10 big questions" before taking a position. Those questions include the effect on specific roads, highways, neighbourhoods, residents and the role of public transit.
He says so far, the city has not been invited to collaborate.
"I don't think the government can do this alone," said Marchand.
"There's an advantage to working together, because it's impossible to build this kind of project in an urban area without doing it with the city. It's the same thing on the Lévis side."
The mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, who recently announced he is not seeking re-election, said he's ready to give the government a chance.
He has reiterated his confidence in the CAQ MNAs on the south shore to bring the project to a successful conclusion but has also committed to being a "watchdog" to ensure the positive evolution of the project.
Calling the government's 'bluff'
Guilbault says other Quebec parties "laugh" at the idea of the transit project, and said that reaction shows they are disconnected from people's needs in the region.
"They say that it's not serious, that we don't need it. So when they do that, they mock 70 per cent of the population of the Capitale Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches, which I think is weird," she said.
Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime says the back and forth on this project is "ridiculous." He says Quebecers have been waiting for years, yet the CAQ is still unable to give details on the exact route and cost.
"It's really just nonsense," said Duhaime.
Joël Arseneau, a Parti Québécois MNA, says it's like groundhog day. He says even those in favour of the project will no longer believe Minister Guilbault because of a lack of credibility.
"There's also information that is missing," said Arseneau.
Étienne Grandmont, Québec Solidaire critic for transport and sustainable mobility, says he's calling the government's "bluff."
"It's just a way of getting more votes at the next election," said Grandmont.
"There are solutions, great solutions that we could study, but the CAQ never wanted to go that way. So, it's an electoral project for them. They just want to maintain the idea that they will do it."
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With files from Cathy Senay and Radio-Canada's Flavie Sauvageau