Montreal auditor general blames mismanagement for crumbling roads

Montreal’s crumbling roads are the result of mismanagement and poor planning, according to the city’s 2024 Auditor General (AG) report.

Equipment breakdowns, insufficient work, and the lack of a clear strategy for road upkeep were amongst the things flagged as issues by AG Andrée Cossette.

“The City has not established sufficient mechanisms to ensure efficient management of roadway maintenance and upkeep,” she stated in her 512-page 2024 annual report, released Monday.

Her findings point to “insufficient mechanisms” and a “compartmentalized” approach that hinders preventive maintenance and long-term planning.

Nearly 40 per cent of local streets, managed by the boroughs, were in “poor” or “very poor” condition in 2024, in Montreal — higher than in 2023.

The AG explained that barely three per cent of Montreal’s local streets in poor condition received work between 2022 and 2024.

“It sucks”: Montrealers frustrated by poor road work planning

Cossette highlighted in her report that residents ranked road maintenance as the city’s top service priority, yet current efforts fall short.

It’s a sentiment that many Montrealers share — and one that resident Ralph Cheaib told CityNews he knows all too well.

“It sucks,” he said, reacting to the findings of the AG report. “We have to live with it, it’s Montreal.”

For some residents, the never-ending maze of orange cones has been enough to keep them off the roads altogether.

“I don’t drive because there’s a lot of construction around,” said Montrealer Mehdi Benmoussat, “and there’s no parking too.”

According to Cossette, poorly planned construction traces its roots to a larger issue she said Montreal has been facing for years: too much confusion between city hall and the boroughs over who’s responsible for what — and not enough centralized planning.

Her recommendation: give boroughs a larger role in major repair projects.

“What we found was that it has not been effective and that it should be linked to a more standardized, more structured processes,” she told reporters Tuesday. “We recommend that everything be harmonized and included in an integrated management plan.”

City response and criticism

Boroughs like Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Sud-Ouest were singled out for underutilizing repair funds for repairing potholes.

The report points to repeated machine breakdowns as the culprit behind those boroughs underutilizing anywhere between 15 to 94 per cent of their road repair budgets between 2019 and 2023. For boroughs like Ahuntsic-Cartierville, machine malfunctions have resulted in local officials ceasing repairs altogether in 2023.

Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough mayor and executive committee chair for infrastructure, buildings and asset maintenance Émilie Thuillier told reporters Tuesday that local roads have taken a back seat in recent years after the city made the choice to focus more on repairing major road arteries.

“This is where more people are passing, this is where there is public transit, and (where) you and me are passing by,” Thuillier said.

But even still, the AG’s report shows Montreal continues to fall short. Investments in maintaining the city’s main roads were insufficient by nearly $60 million for what’s needed over the next decade. Investments into local roads, on the other hand, were lacking by $490 million — a whopping gap of 86 per cent.

The report recommends clearer strategic goals and the creation of a defined preventive maintenance plan for arterial roads.

“This lack of coordination compromises the quality of roadways, posing a safety risk to users,” the auditor said.

2024 annual report of the Auditor General of the City of Montreal by CityNewsToronto

Mayoral candidate Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the leader of opposition party Ensemble Montréal, took aim at the Projet Montréal administration for what she called years of mismanagement.

“But when I look at the report, let me tell you, it’s scary,” she said. “Unfortunately we have a candidate that has been the mayor of the Plateau — which (had) one of the worst management in terms of investments in local roads.”

Ferrada added that the AG report confirms what Montrealers have been living with for years, adding that proper road maintenance would be a top priority for her administration if elected.

“Citizens don’t even know what’s coming in terms of road (work). One day they wake up and there’s a construction site.” she said. “I think we have to do better in terms of transparency.”

Projet Montréal leader and mayoral candidate Luc Rabouin acknowledged the criticisms from the AG, but pointed to the city’s larger infrastructure deficit as the real challenge.

“We know that we have major challenges regarding all of our infrastructures,” admitted Rabouin. “Underground infrastructures, streets, buildings, and it’s the case in Montreal, the case in all of Quebec, we know with hospitals, our schools. So we have to face decades of under-investment in our infrastructure. So we face it, we face it courageously.”

Going forward, officials say they want to increase transparency to ensure better coordination and that Montrealers aren’t caught off guard when the city’s orange cones take over the streets.

“We have to work more on processes and to explain,” Thuillier said. “It’s not so clear for Montrealers or even for elected people what is done when and what are the results.”

The extensive AG report also covered various other issues, including how the Montreal Fire Department manages personal protective equipment, compensation of senior management employees, and reimbursements to borough staff.