Saguenay discovered five heavily damaged culverts on its road network. The City has decided to block the passage of cars nearby to avoid accidents while emergency work is carried out. In the meantime, citizens will have to be patient.
Employees from Saguenay, accompanied by a specialist from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, inspected 550 culverts in recent weeks. Their work revealed that infrastructure was in danger of collapsing.
The priority for us is people’s safety and immediately, we closed the culverts
assures Martin Lavoie, communications advisor to the City of Saguenay.
As a result, in the district of Chicoutimi, part of Rang Saint-Paul has been blocked since Thursday. Cars are no longer authorized to circulate between ruelle Jean and rue des Prés.
The company Gazon Savard, which is located some 500 meters from a road closure, fears a drop in its customers due to the major detours.
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The owner of Gazon Savard, Langis Savard
Photo: Radio-Canada / Roby St-Gelais
%, it doesn’t make sense, because people will be forced to go around from the top of the row. This will increase traffic considerably”,”text”:”If the path is 100% blocked, it doesn’t make sense, because people will be forced to go around at the top of the row. This will increase traffic considerably”}}”>If the path is 100% blocked, it doesn’t make sense, because people will be forced to go around the top of the row. This will increase traffic considerably
deplores its owner, Langis Savard.
The City has not ruled out the option of installing temporary bridges if the work lasts too long. She is currently busy studying what needs to be done.
Our teams are working to carry out more in-depth analyzes to determine the nature of the work on each of these culverts. Culverts, there are small ones, there are big ones. A culvert is a pipe that lets water flow under a road artery
explains Martin Lavoie.
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In the Laterrière sector, Chemin Saint-Isidore, between Chemin Saint-Henri and up to Route 170, is also blocked during repairs.
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A culvert on Chemin St-Isidore is in critical condition.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Rémi Tremblay
The Rives-du-Saguenay School Service Center has set up assembly points for children and adolescents in the area who need to go to school. People responsible for the transport department set to work to find the best solutions
says Louise Noël, communications coordinator.
A resident is still worried about the safety of the children. We have to move them, bring them to the side of the 170, there are a lot of cars. They’re all going to take the bus there. […] The problem will be the risk of accidents.
We are perfectly aware of the fact that it ruins the lives of many people, that it complicates the lives of many people.
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In the district of La Baie, part of the Anse-à-Benjamin road is closed due to a culvert in very poor condition.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Rémi Tremblay
In the district of La Baie, it is Chemin Saint-Joseph, between Chemin de la Ligne-Bagot and Route de l’Anse-à-Benjamin, which is blocked. The Anse-à-Benjamin road is also closed between the Chemin de la Grande-Anse and the Chemin du Cap-à-l’Ouest.
In the district of Jonquière, the entire Chemin Saint-Éloi is affected.
With information from Roby St-Gelais
