Chris Lowrey
GATINEAU March 5, 2018
Pontiac MNA André Fortin was in Gatineau on the morning of March 5 to announce the funding of a number of infrastructure projects in the region.
The provincial government has pledged more than $150 million to the Outaouais road network over the next two years.
The goal of the project is to reduce the risk and severity of traffic accidents and will include measures like installing traffic lights and traffic circles, implementing initiatives to protect large wildlife and installing new street lighting.
The program will include 97 construction sites and the province boasts it will create nearly 1,000 jobs in the region.
One of the main projects in the Pontiac is the more than $5 million committed to the rehabilitation of the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge in Mansfield.
Other projects in the Pontiac include the completion of a section of Hwy. 148 between Terry Fox Road and Maple Road in the Municipality of Pontiac; resurfacing a section of Lac-des-Loups Road; resurfacing Hwy. 148 up to Montée Monseigneur Martel and resurfacing Route 301 between route 366 and Stephens Road in Otter Lake.
The announcement also contains plans to resurface Front Street in Campbell’s Bay in 2020.
Fortin pointed specifically to the rehabilitation of the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand Bridge as an important investment. Fortin said the bridge serves as both a pillar of the local transportation network as well as a driver of tourism.
MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller was also on hand and was pleased with the announcement.
But Toller said she had some concerns on behalf of the MRC that she wanted to share with Fortin.
She highlighted the five-year plan that locks municipalities into roadwork projects. Toller said she’d like to see more flexibility to allow municipalities to adapt to emergencies that may arise and need funds.
Toller also said she was going to push to have logging companies pay a larger share for the repair of the roadways that are used by logging trucks.
pointing to Jim’s Lake Road, a section of which is maintained by the logging companies but used by residents, Toller said the roadway is not wide enough when it’s plowed and would like to see more enforcement by the province.
Since road safety is one of the major drivers behind this project, Fortin was asked about the amount of fatal collisions on Hwy. 148 and pointed to the work that’s being done between Terry Fox Road and Maple Road.
“That section in Luskville was considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the province,” Fortin said.
But Fortin also addressed the need to cut back on distracted driving as a key to reducing road fatalities. He also noted the province is working on a graduated licensing process similar to Ontario that would see young drivers restricted from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. and limit the number of passengers in their vehicle.
