Construction starts on final phase of Autoroute 85 in eastern Quebec, costs total $942.9M
By On-Site Staff
Construction RoadsSAINT-ANTONIN, Que.—Work on the third and final phase of Autoroute 85 is underway in eastern Quebec, not far from the New Brunswick border.
Construction on the $942.9 million highway project got underway Aug. 6, according to Ottawa, which has committed $389.7 million in federal infrastructure funding to the work.
Also known as Autoroute Claude-Béchard, Hwy. 85 in the province’s Bas-Saint-Laurent region breaks off Autoroute 20 at Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Que. and runs southeast to the New Brunswick border. The province has been working to complete the divided highway on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River east of Quebec City since the early 2000s.
Quebec has earmarked $553.2 million for the final phase.
“I am happy to announce the start of this major work on Autoroute 85, which will significantly improve safety and traffic flow for users,” Rémi Massé, MP for Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia, said in a release. “It is another step toward redeveloping Route 185 into an uninterrupted highway link between Quebec and New Brunswick, which will support trade with the Maritime provinces by facilitating the movement of people and goods.”
Construction crews will tackle the third phase of work on Hwy. 85 in separate stages, starting with an 8.3-kilometre segment in Saint-Antonin, Que. this summer. All together, the final phase of the highway project includes seven segments of road totalling about 40 kilometres.
Work on the project is scheduled to run until 2021.
