47 Quebec highway overpasses get ‘precautionary’ repairs following review

MONTREAL – Quebec’s transport ministry has made repairs to 47 of the province’s 605 highway overpasses following a round of inspections over the past week.

Transport Minister Sylvain Gaudreault says the repairs were precautionary and the overpasses get a passing grade.

The review was launched after a section of concrete fell from a Montreal overpass last Monday, closing a major city highway for three hours.

Gaudreault says this month’s erratic weather — which has ranged from extreme cold to above-zero temperatures — likely made the province’s aging roads worse.

Quebec’s crumbling road infrastructure has been under scrutiny since a highway overpass in Laval collapsed in September 2006, killing five people.