End of the road for Turcot PPP
It looks like the Quebec government will have to go it alone when it comes to rebuilding the Turcot Interchange.
It's backed away from plans of using a public-private partnership for the multi-million dollar project.
The PPP plan for reconstructing the aging highway was supposed to save over 100-million dollars.
That was before the economic crisis.
So now that those savings won't be materializing, it's the end of the road for the P3.
But not so for the 1.5-billion dollar project, expected to be finished in 2016.
"The schedule does not change for the project, this project is not in jeopardy at all," spokesperson Anne Pelletier tells CJAD News.
The government says it may resort to P3 features such as contractors and penalties for not meeting deadlines, adding that public-only management will mean more flexibility for the project.
The change is welcome news for those against the plan.
"They're showing that the public hearings have paid off," says St. Henri resident Jody Negley, one of the critics of the project. She adds it may force the government to re-think the whole thing.
"I think that the government is beginning to show signs of having heard an overwhelming number of groups and citizens who have demonstrated clearly that there are many alternatives."
The city of Montreal released a statement also expressing satisfaction with the decision, saying a PPP would have been a straight-jacket for the project.
The Turcot interchange is used by about 290-thousand motorists every day.
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