GARNIER LTD. Replacement overpass is complete, but inspections of others are ongoing.

Inspections of 135 concrete bridges, overpasses and ramps are well under way 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.

“This is not an emergency situation. If any work needs to be done, it will be carried out,” says province spokesperson Mario St. Pierre of the inspections. Trucks carrying heavy machinery are not allowed to use the structures.

Private engineering consultants are assisting province engineers with the inspections, which include assessments, coring and structural analysis calculations. Work started July 19 and is expected to last well into autumn.

Ranging from three to 30 years old, the bridges are thick concrete-slab structures with reinforcing steel. They were selected from 335 structures whose original plans were evaluated by engineers as part of the action plan launched following the collapse of the overpass, a 36-year-old structure with twin three-lane spans.

The inspections were developed in consultation with a three-member commission led by former Quebec Premier Pierre-Marc Johnson. The panel heard from 58 people. Civil engineering professors gave opinions and more than 80 reports were filed with the commission. The inquiry ended 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 comprises a concrete slab on a steel frame supported by twin concrete pillars, says Robert Fortin, project manager with general contractor Garnier Construction Ltd. The Laval-based firm received a $95,000 bonus for finishing before June 22.

Gilles Vaillancourt, Laval mayor and president of Quebec Coalition for the Renewal of Infrastructure, says the Quebec government should spend more than $1.8 billion per year during the next 15 years to improve infrastructure. The coalition says $1.1 billion also is needed for municipal bridge rehabilitation.