Quebec cites ‘safety’ as reason for La Fontaine tunnel delay

Construction on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, which connects the island of Montreal to the South Shore, will be delayed until 2027. 

According to the ministry of transport and sustainable mobility, the $2.5 billion project will be postponed due to several factors including mould. Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault saying despite the delays ensuring the safety of construction sites is key. 

“Safety is the main criteria on which we base our decisions, so we will never compromise the safety of our women, men and women on our work sites,” Guilbault said.

“First of all, the work is more complex than we expected in the tube. Second, the ventilation […] we have to change. And third, labor shortage,” she added. “We had some issues regarding safety of the people who work on the site.” 

The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel restoration work began in 2019 and three of the tunnel’s six lanes have been closed since 2022. The work was initially scheduled to end by Fall 2025 but the opening of both tunnel tubes is now expected by Fall 2026. Montrealers will see partial closures resulting from final completion work until 2027.

“We are in this situation because of the lack of maintaining our infrastructures by previous governments.

“We see it with the tunnel, but we also saw it with the pont de l’Île-aux-Tourtes, we saw it with the pont d’Orléans. We are in situations where we have to make urgent work,” Guilbault said.

At a press conference Monday, the transport minister also announced June 10-16 as a week in support of construction worker safety, as there were 822 victims across road construction sites in Quebec last year.

 “For the first time, we will have this annual week that will be dedicated to prevention and awareness about safety of the people who work on our construction sites because it is a major issue. Year after year there are too many people that are hurt or even dead,” she said.

“As of June 3, 93 fatal collisions were recorded in the jurisdiction of the Sûreté du Québec, which represents an increase of more than 35% compared to the average of the last five years,” said Francis Bernardin, of the Sûreté du Québec.

Meanwhile, Montreal drivers hope the work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel will lead to some light. 

“I do 70,000 kilometres per year and the goal is to avoid the tunnel and avoid Montreal as much as possible. It’s always jammed. It’s hell,” said one man.

“Nothing against young people but the older [construction] workers have left and taken their recipes with them,” said another. “It’s the citizens who pay. All the detours people do – they don’t pay us back. Will [the City] help with our gas?”

“When I go to work, I have difficulty every morning,” one driver told CityNews, all the while acknowledging, “better that it takes a little bit more time so it can be done properly.”