Worst Roads 2023: What’s the deal in Gatineau?
For a second year in a row, road users in the Outaouais region mobilized the most to award Gatineau’s Rue Georges the title of “Worst Road in Quebec”, after a four-week campaign that made several of the city’s arteries stand out from the rest. Most notably, Boulevard de la Gappe, 2022’s grand winner, received some love in the wake of the campaign. Hopefully, the 2023 edition will lead to a similar outcome!
In second and third place respectively were Route 329, in Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, Laurentides, and Route des Fondateurs, in Larouche, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Year after year, the Worst Roads campaign remains an unparalleled advocate for Quebecers who want their infrastructure to be safer, and most of all, in proper state. Meanwhile, when compared to the rest of the country, Quebec’s road network holds up poorly. This is hardly surprising, given that according to the Québec Infrastructure Plan 2023–2033, only 56% of the province’s upper road network is in good condition. This percentage excludes municipal road networks.
See the 2023 ranking of Quebec’s Worst Roads.
See the 2023 ranking of Quebec’s Worst Roads for each region.
“Neglected maintenance, insufficient investment, aging and obsolete infrastructure: these are some of the reasons behind the premature deterioration of our network. Roadways are essential to all of us, regardless of our means of transportation, and represent a collective economic asset that must be maintained sustainably for Quebec to prosper.”
– Sophie Gagnon, Vice-President, Public Affairs and Road Safety
A distinctive situation in Gatineau
We’ve lost count of the many times Outaouais has appeared in our ranking over the years. But what explains this ubiquitous situation in this region? According to local politicians, the investments promised by the government, particularly those promised for Route 105, are rather minimal. Furthermore, they do not meet citizens’ expectations. Earlier this year, a petition circulated asking the ministry to give priority to repairs on this problematic stretch of road, despite an announcement of several million dollars dedicated to its maintenance.
What happens next?
Having now obtained the precious votes of road users, we will be contacting the relevant authorities in charge of the top ten arterial roads in this dismal ranking to inform them and learn about their investment intentions. A reminder will be issued before the end of the year, should the need arise, to stress the importance of road maintenance expressed by citizens.
Methodology
CAA-Quebec’s 8th Worst Roads campaign ran from April 12 to May 8, 2023. Every road user (motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, truckers, etc.) was invited to report the province’s worst road on the caaworstroads.com portal. Only one vote per road, per day, per user was allowed. A total of 5771 votes were tallied to establish the final ranking for the Worst Roads 2023.
About CAA-Quebec
CAA-Quebec, a non-profit organization, assists each of its members by providing mobility, travel, insurance and residential benefits, products and services. CAA was named the number one most trusted brand in Canada in the annual Trusted Brand Index for 2022 by the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria.
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