Garnier Ltd New overpass replaces one that collapsed last year.

Inspections of 135 concrete bridges, overpasses and ramps are well underway in Quebec as part of an action plan by Transports Québec. They are spurred by last September's collapse of a 20-meter-long section of a concrete cantilevered prestressed box girder bridge overpass on Highway 19 in Laval. Five people were killed when tons of falling concrete and steel fell on their cars.

"This is not an emergency situation. If any work needs to be done, it will be carried out," says spokesperson Mario St. Pierre. The province's transportation department has closed those bridges under inspection to all trucks carrying heavy machinery and other single load items.

Only about 10% of trucks in Quebec are affected by the ban and they will be able to find alternate routes. But the inspections will cause inconvenience areas such as Quebec City, where the eight-lane A40 has been narrowed to four lanes, he notes.

Private engineering consulting firms are assisting department engineers with the inspections, which will be comprised of assessments, coring and structural analysis calculations. Work started July 19 and is expected to last well into autumn.

Garnier Ltd. New bridge has twin pillars for extra support.

Ranging from three- to 30-years old, the bridges and overpasses are thick concrete slab structures with limited or reinforcing steel. They were selected from a list of 335 structures that department engineers evaluated by examining the original engineering plans. These are part of the action plan the department launched following the collapse of the overpass, a 36-year-old-structure consisting of twin three-lane spans. Montreal-based Dessau-Soprin Inc. was the designer.

The inspections were developed in consultation with a commission of inquiry head by commission president (and former Quebec premier) Pierre-Marc Johnson who in July voiced concerns about concrete slabs in bridges in Quebec without sufficient reinforcement to counter shear cracking.

The three-member panel he headed listened to 58 witnesses who were either driving on the overpass when it collapsed, saw what happened or were connected in some way with its design or construction. Several civil engineering university professors also gave their opinion on possible causes and more than 80 reports were filed with the commission. They included one from the Maintenance of the Road Network in Quebec coalition which recommended the creation of a dedicated multi-year road and bridge fund instead of the current policy of funding projects on yearly basis and second recommendation the Transports Québec's maintenance section be a separate body.

"That would it free it (maintenance) from the control of the bureaucracy," says Denis de Bellevale, spokesperson for the Quebec City-based coalition of 12 major road-building contractors and suppliers. It advocates better financing for the province's infrastructure.

The inquiry concluded Aug 1 and a report will be submitted to the provincial government by Oct. 15.

Construction of a new overpass in Laval started in February and finished June 4. Designed by Transports Québec engineers, it's comprised of a concrete slab on a steel frame supported by twin concrete pillars that weren't in place in the original structure, says Robert Fortin, project manager with general contractor Garnier Construction Ltd. The Laval-based firm received a $95,000 bonus for finishing before a June 22 contractual deadline. It faced liquidated damages of $9,500 a day for the first week and $4,800 for every day after if work had gone past that date, says Fortin.

Gilles Vaillancourt, Laval mayor and president of Quebec Coalition for the Renewal of Infrastructure, re-emphasized his position that the Quebec government should spent more than $1.8 billion per year during the next 15 years to improve the province's infrastructure system. According to coalition estimates, a further $1.1 billion needs to be spent on municipal bridge rehabilitation during the same 15-year period.