Work on the Pierre Laporte Bridge: SQ calls on drivers to be patient

While the first phase of work went more smoothly than expected, the patience of motorists has been strained since the start of the second blitzkrieg on August 8.

On several occasions, congestion was very significant and caused significant delays for people wanting to move from one bank to another. Several hypotheses are put into question to explain this increase in congestion, including the behavior of drivers.

Sûreté du Québec spokeswoman Helen Neptune believes that some impatient motorists are The artisans are misfortuneBecause it causes a lot of congestion.

Helen Neptune is the spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec.

Photo: Radio Canada

Many drivers have been seen committing infractions, including changing lanes when prohibited, often resulting in significant obstruction to traffic., Emphasizes. the mintSerritte de Quebec Also note that some impatient people decide to move the cones themselves to get to the forbidden places.

In addition, distracted motorists cause accidents. This week, a truck, which did not slow down despite traffic lights declaring crowding, hit several vehicles, adding to the wait.

Therefore, the Sûreté du Québec encourages motorists to demonstrate good citizenship and patience until the end of work.

The new waterproofing membrane installed on the Pierre Laporte Bridge this summer is of the same type that was applied to the Samuel de Champlain Bridge in Montreal.

Image source: Paul Dionne

Schedule maintain despite the weather

The heat plus a few bouts of rain caused some hardships for workers last week.

Despite everything, they have adapted to keep up. We changed the order of progress if we wanted. We did one more thing while we couldn’t fix the membrane due to the heat, points to Department of Transportation spokesperson, Emily Lord.

Thus, the department maintains its schedule which states the end of this second phase on August 18th.

Behind the scenes of the operation

And the media managed, on Saturday morning, to visit the coordination center that was operated throughout the work period. The various organizations are grouped into a room to monitor the progress of work and coordinate actions to minimize the impact on services.

The DOT focal point brings together different stakeholders to enhance on-the-job decision-making.

Photo: Radio Canada/Colin Cote Polit

The Sûreté du Québec, the Municipal Police Forces of Quebec and Levis, everything that surrounds the hospitals, the traffic controllers, the Department of Transportation … these people meet in the same room and make decisions based on what we see on the road network.Emily Lord explains.

To achieve this, stakeholders rely, among other things, on 280 cameras installed throughout the road network.

Thus they can coordinate the management of the central corridor of the Quebec Bridge, which must be freed when an ambulance must pass from one bank to another.

With information from Colin Côté-Paulette