The coroner’s office recommends widening Highway 20 to four lanes between Rimouski and Mont-Joli following the death of Arianne Dubé, which occurred last November during a collision near Saint-Anaclet.
In her report, Me Monique Tremblay cites the high number of accidents on the two-lane highway, sometimes three.
The section caused 1,203 accidents from 2004 to 2022, including 25 fatalities. It receives between 8,100 and 9,500 vehicles per day, while between 7,100 and 9,000 vehicles daily use Highway 85. Its construction with four lanes of two carriageways, in each direction, will be completed by 2026.
For some unknown reason, on the morning of November 16, Mrs. Dubé suddenly deviated from his path
heading east before losing control of his vehicle
. Another one traveling westbound. could not avoid his vehicle.
The young mother died a few hours later at the Rimouski Regional Hospital.
According to the coroner, a four-lane Highway 20, with a terre-plein central
would have allowed Arianne Dubé to react when she left her lane. In the worst case, she would have left the road and the fatal collision could have been avoided.
It’s up to Geneviève Guilbault to play
MP Pascal Bérubé urges the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, to quickly plan the work to widen this section with four lanes and a central reservation.
Although Ms. Guilbault mentioned that no recommendation from the coroner justified this work, the situation has just changed, six months later.
“The section between Mont-Joli and Rimouski is very dangerous and Mr. Tremblay’s report confirms that the only possible solution to properly secure this sector is to widen it and make it a real highway and not a bypass, as is currently the case. Since the minister was waiting for this recommendation to act, I ask her to respond favourably to the recommendation of coroner Monique Tremblay. I also hope to be able to count on the support of the minister responsible for the Lower St. Lawrence in this matter this time,” said Mr. Bérubé.
Petition of 10,000 names
In February, the member for Matane-Matapédia filed a petition with more than 10,000 names in the National Assembly, requesting that the section of Highway 20 between Rimouski and Mont-Joli be widened.
The Ministry of Transport has already publicly confirmed that the widening was planned from the beginning of this project.
“All that is lacking is the political will to act on the part of the Minister of Transport and the CAQ government,” believes Pascal Bérubé.
