A 3rd link not necessarily to the east with public transport… or not

The third link could be a bridge or a tunnel, include public transport or not and be located anywhere between the Quebec Bridge and the western tip of Île d’Orléans, indicated the Ministry of Transport, which will call on international consortia to clarify its project.

This is what emerges from a technical explanation session held Friday morning by officials from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

The Ministry is launching a call for international interest to carry out its third link project. The intervention zone, which includes the city center, is long, 16 km, between the Quebec Bridge and the western tip of Île d’Orléans, where the width of the river varies between 600 meters at the bridges and 5 km near the island.

As for public transport (bus or tram) which would run on the infrastructure, the Ministry does not rule it out. Bridge of any type or tunnel, nothing is ruled out either. However, a passage via the Île d’Orléans was immediately rejected.

During the announcement by the CAQ, which committed last June to creating the third link, François Legault said he wanted a bridge to the east, without public transport, and ruled out a tunnel. “What is planned is that it will be a motorway link, so for trucks and cars, it is not planned to accommodate a tram or public transport,” he maintained.

Partner search

“We are looking for our partner who will create the third link between Quebec and Lévis,” indicated the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, who understands the “skepticism” of the population, attributable to the “tribulations” of the project. She assures that her government wants to demonstrate that it will move forward. It is her credibility that is “at stake”, agrees the minister.

“It’s the credibility of our government and I’m part of it. In addition, I am elected from Quebec and I am Minister of Transport. That’s a lot of titles that mean we have to do the project.”

On the targeted area, the minister indicated that the analysis will be carried out on an infrastructure located “somewhere between the east of the current bridges and the west of the island”, but that “for us, it makes sense that the new infrastructure is not in the same place as the current bridges. As for the type of infrastructure (bridge or tunnel), even if the CAQ leans towards a bridge, “we do not want to lock future bidders into something too defined too quickly. […] We’re not ruling anything out at first glance.”

The passage of cruise ships under a possible bridge will be “taken into account”, underlined M^me Guilbault.

“Credibility at stake”

The government will therefore return to elections in 2026 once again on this project, since the first contract signing is planned for 2027. But for M^me Guilbault, the CAQ will have completed enough steps by then for the project to be “irreversible”. She mentions potential penalties if a government from another party wanted to back down on the project. “We are committed and we are sure we will do it.”

Citation

“I might just start it. Sometimes I say: “I’m going to take my shovel and I’m going to go there myself, do the first shovelful of earth”. But obviously, that’s not possible.”

–Geneviève Guilbault, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility