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[Richard3]

Since Oct. 3rd, an bridge overpassing rang St. Edouard, in St. Simon, QC, is totally closed to traffic, due to a structural issue that was found on an inspection.  So the traffic was detoured by the exit 145 ramps.  The MTQ did some works to give, by Oct. 8th, two lanes on the ramps, in order to avoid slowdowns.  In this way, the rang St. Edouard itself is closed to traffic between both EB and WB ramps.

With all bridge issues the MTQ have to deal with since 2006 Concorde Blvd bridge collapse in Laval, I don't understand why they don't have what we could call an "emergency kit", that should be used in order to reinforce a bridge, a kit that should be installed in some hours, or at last a couple of days.  You know, something like the super-beam they used on Champlain Bridge, a couple of years ago; that comes as a kit that may be installed about everywhere on the bridge.  I don't know if it's the province itself, or a private contractor, that used it, but Nova Scotia used a similar system to reinforce overpasses while they were replacing some regular beams.

In many locations in province of Quebec, bridges are reinforced temporarily with some additional pillars, in order to make them last longer prior to a bridge repair or replacement; I'm sure they have the expertise to conceive a system that may be installed rapidly and do the job while the engineers work on a permanent solution.

I swear that the new transport minister, François Bonnardel, will work on that sooner than later.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Looking at the bridge on Google Maps, I'm not sure there could be a temporary fix for such a structure. It looks to me like the structure is a rigid frame with cantilevered end spans.

My guess is the concrete in the centre span has just deteriorated enough that it can no longer carry a load.  If that's the case, the bridge would likely just need to be out of commission until they could build a replacement span.  That doesn't seem like a case where there would be an economical way to strengthen the existing bridge.

But... I'm not a structural engineer so that's all just conjecture.

[Richard3]

Even in that kind of situation, there's a solution that may be done fast.

Being there often, I know there's room enough between the two actual bridges to install a two-lane wide Bailey-type temporary bridge. Let's talk about a couple of weeks to complete the approaches, while other teams assemble the bridge, and BAM!  It's done!

I think they sleep on the switch, at the MTQ!

Just imagine the same situation, but in place of a county road, with exit/entry ramps, the bridge crosses a river, with no exit; you imagine the detour, into local network, on many kilometers?  And all the trucks; a lot of them could not be detoured by the A-40 because they load/unload on south shore.

The MTQ must definitely be faster than it is now!

I just wrote an e-mail to the new minister of transports, François Bonnardel, about that.

[NE2]

Maybe they didn't do a temporary bridge because it doesn't cross a river and the ramp fix was available. Duh.

[Richard3]

But for now, the problem is in order to let the traffic flow on the ramps, they close the county road, so the truck stop is not accessible without a detour.

And the truckers that have to deal with a detour still have to deal with a logbook.

[webfil]

But for now, the problem is in order to let the traffic flow on the ramps, they close the county road, so the truck stop is not accessible without a detour.

And the truckers that have to deal with a detour still have to deal with a logbook.

The interchange is a very wide diamond whose northern ramp is the former alignment of Highway 9, therefore is the deviation seamless for the A-20 trafic. Speed is limited to 70 km/h for 1.5 km and right lane is restricted to vehicles narrower than 3.5 m, akin to many other construction zones along the Québec-Montréal route.

Maskoutains regional county municipality does not have unorganized territories, so there is nothing such as a county road there. Rang Saint-Édouard is a collector (second-to-least important in MTMDET ranking) road under MTQ jurisdiction south of A-20, and a local road north of it.

Rang Saint-Édouard sees an average of 2700 vehicles per day, 96% of them being cars. A-20, with an AADT of 50k vpd and a truck ratio of 25%, is designated part of the National Highway System of Canada because of its social and economic importance. Do the math. The closure of a small portion of a rural, unsignificant road is plentifully justified, especially with alternatives to the Big Stop at the five other major truck stops or rest area 7 to 25 km east of this interchange. Your logbook surely can fit in seven kilometres... less!

Was a whole new topic really worth it?