Quebec to inspect at-risk bridges, overpasses
Last Updated: Friday, July 6, 2007 | 11:20 AM ET
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Transport Quebec will move quickly on a promise to inspect some 332 bridges and road structures after the Johnson Commission probing the Concorde overpass collapse warned of similar risks elsewhere in the province.
The province's Transport Ministry said it will dispatch inspectors to look at the bridges and overpasses sooner than it had originally planned, but stopped short of committing to a specific timeline, because it says the risk is not imminent.
"They are safe, and they will still be safe, and if we have any doubt of it, we will close them," said department spokeswoman Anne-Marie Leclerc on Thursday.
Drivers shouldn't be concerned about using Quebec roads and highways because they pose no real concern, Leclerc said.
Earlier this week, the commission investigating the September 2006 Concorde overpass collapse told the hearings that factors contributing to the Highway 19 disaster also exist on other roads and thoroughfares, and present a risk for public safety.
The commission alerted the provincial Transport Ministry about its concerns earlier this spring.
The commission, headed by former premier Pierre Marc Johnson and made up of several engineers, is investigating the deadly collapse of the Concorde overpass on Sept. 30, 2006.
Five people, including a pregnant woman, were crushed after a section of concrete broke off the overpass's southern span.
The inquiry has spent the last several months collecting evidence and testimony from eyewitnesses, victims and civil engineering experts, who testified the overpass collapsed after a "perfect storm" of shoddy design, poor construction and ill-fitting materials.
The commission will wrap up its hearings this summer, and submit a final report in the fall.
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