The mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, coldly welcomes the proposal of the leader of the PCQ, Éric Duhaime, who suggests building a bridge to the east instead of a tunnel linking the two city centers.
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Interviewed at a press briefing on the exit of the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) the day before, the mayor of Lévis renewed his confidence today in the Legault government, which is currently working on a new, less expensive version of the Quebec-Lévis tunnel project, originally valued at between $6 and $10 billion.
“The next step that we are waiting for with great impatience is to know what adjustments the government will make to the current project. And from there, we will position ourselves, but basically, we are already behind the government […] We believe that the government project is holding up very well, ”he dropped, thus siding with the camp of the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel.
Mr. Lehouillier obviously favors a route that will link the two city centers in order to improve public transit service.
“The public transit component is important. Basically, in addition to the car lanes, the government is offering us a real metro between the two shores (the project provides for electric buses to circulate in the tunnel, editor’s note). We will not be able to bring people on public transport if we do not make a downtown to downtown link, ”he insisted.
Additional support
Photo d’archives, Agence QMI
PCQ leader Eric Duhaime
The mayor of Lévis nevertheless welcomed Éric Duhaime’s support for a third intershore link, even if he does not share his point of view on the form that this link should take.
“The longer it goes, the more you are going to see this kind of support for a third link in a much more intense way than one can imagine. There is very strong support. There is Mr. Duhaime who proposes a variant… Now, we say “trust the government”. »
“I have a deep belief that the government is looking to see how it could cut costs and get the project done in a shorter time frame,” he added.
Merchant still skeptical
The mayor of Quebec, meanwhile, has not yet officially got wet on the third link project and said he was unable to comment on its form. Bruno Marchand is waiting to see the “adjustments” which will be announced later by the government before committing themselves.
However, he already seems convinced that the route to the east is not the best option. “The further east and farther you go, the more highway it is, the more difficult it is for public transport. I tend to be skeptical. »
– With the collaboration of Stéphanie Martin