2023-11-07 05:00:00
Road congestion is back in force in Quebec, particularly in the middle of the week on the municipal network, but also on the highways, including Henri-IV, which has only just been widened, but which is already the scene of traffic jams. rush hours.
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Following observations made in recent weeks by The newspaper regarding increased congestion on the capital’s main arteries, the City of Quebec has confirmed that the situation has worsened.
“Indeed, the City also noted that traffic conditions were more difficult on certain days of the week, namely Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” indicated spokesperson Jean-Pascal Lavoie.
The City’s Transportation and Intelligent Mobility Department also noted last spring that the situation had returned to what prevailed before COVID-19.
“Data collected last May showed that the recovery rate compared to 2019, before the pandemic, was 92% at the morning peak period, 101% at midday and 99% at the peak period followingnoon rush.”
New peak period at midday
Newly, the City notes “that there are three peak periods during the day”, with the addition of midday. “Traffic volumes during the lunch hour are now higher than during the morning rush hour. However, they are lower than during the followingnoon rush hour.”
New data collection will be carried out this month.
Induced traffic
On the Henri-IV Nord highway, during the evening rush hour, it is not uncommon for a traffic jam to stretch for several kilometers, between Chemin Sainte-Foy and the Félix-Leclerc highway. However, this infrastructure has only just been expanded. Started in 2018, phase two of the work was completed in 2021. This tends to demonstrate the phenomenon of induced traffic, measured scientifically throughout the world, according to which adding capacity on a motorway automatically brings more motorists to the ‘use, increasing congestion rather than reducing it.
Data collected by the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) and provided to the Journal also demonstrate that the daily flow of cars on Henri-IV, northbound, between the Charest highway and Wilfrid-Hamel boulevard, increased by 6,300 vehicles per day between November 2017 and October 2023.
Number of vehicles increasing
While Quebec City foresees 100,000 more trips per day on its territory by 2041, we also notice that there are more and more cars on our roads. According to data provided by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, the number of passenger vehicles (cars or light trucks) registered by individuals in the National Capital has been increasing steadily for 10 years. It increased from 400,208 in 2012 to 443,129 in 2022.
This does not include passenger vehicles used for commercial or institutional purposes, the number of which has remained stable, around 46,500, for a decade.
THE ENLARGEMENT OF HENRI IV IN FIGURES
– $299.7 million in total
Phase un:
Start in 2014, end in 2016: Northern section. Repair of bridges. Reconstruction of four bridges located over Rideau Street and the Lorette River.
Phase two:
Start in 2018, end in 2021: Southern section, the busiest. Widening to three lanes in both directions, between the Charest and Félix-Leclerc highways. The MTQ is now carrying out finishing work.
Speed:
– November 2017: 55 070 vehicles/day
– October 2023: 61 390 vehicles/day
The approach to the Robert-Bourassa Nord highway was congested Monday. Photo Stevens LeBlanc/Journal de Québec
Difficult access to Robert-Bourassa
Completely redeveloped in 2013 to ensure better fluidity, the Robert-Bourassa interchange has become a hotspot for congestion, with significant slowdowns during rush hours on its northern ramp, coming from the Charest Est highway.
The lines of vehicles are sometimes so long that they start near the Henri-IV highway, two kilometers further west. The Ministry of Transport is well aware of this situation.
“An increase in the average daily flow on the Charest highway was observed, having gone from 17,500 vehicles per day in 2018 to 19,500 in 2023, an increase of approximately 12%,” explained the spokesperson for the MTQ, Émilie Lord.
1500 vehicles per hour
Currently, up to 1,500 vehicles per hour circulate in the area at the height of the busy period, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., indicates the MTQ.
Other elements are put forward to explain the “problems of occasional congestion during peak periods”.
“This sector accommodates the flow of the Charest Est highway, as well as the flow of a very busy local network [établissements scolaires, commerces, etc.]which reduces the capacity for highway-motorway movement [passer d’une autoroute à une autre, mais qui, dans ce cas-ci, accueille également des débits importants du réseau municipal, donc la vitesse s’en trouve diminuée].»
Better fluidity
The redevelopment of this interchange was started in 2009 and completed in 2013 at a cost of $250 million. It was to ensure better traffic flow. It was considered at the time to be the largest road project in a quarter of a century in the region.
Asked whether it plans corrections in the congested ramp, the MTQ referred The newspaper on the page of its website detailing the projects planned for the next two years. No renovation of this sector is listed.
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