'It's really bad': Local businesses lament Eardley-Masham Road staying closed until fall
Quebec's Transport Ministry says repairs take time to plan, but won't take long once work gets underway
A key roadway across Gatineau Park that has been closed for more than three months due to spring flooding will stay that way until later this fall, Quebec's Transport Ministry (MTQ) told CBC.
The Eardley-Masham Road normally connects Highway 148, south of the park, to Highway 366, north of it, in about 15 to 20 minutes.
It's when these roads are closed that we realize how useful they are.-Guillaume Lamoureux, mayor of La Pêche
Its closure has forced residents who wish to drive between Pontiac and the village of Sainte-Cécile-de-Masham, in La Pêche, to take a detour roughly two to four times as long.
La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux said the MTQ initially told him the road would be fixed this summer.
"It's when these roads are closed that we realize how useful they are, how much we use them," he said. "It's just time that people lose every day, having to go around either through Lac-des-Loups or all the way through Chelsea, and back."
Lamoureux is now worried about the next school year since some high school students commute from Pontiac to study in La Pêche.
Planning takes time, MTQ says
MTQ spokesperson Rosalie Faubert acknowledged that some residents might be frustrated by the prolonged closure, but said that repairs take time to plan.
Faubert said two culverts were destroyed and that several sections of the road will have to be rebuilt between Bradley Road in the south and Sincennes Road in the north.
She said a call for tenders should be put out in the coming weeks and repairs should be completed this fall. Once started, construction shouldn't take too long.
"It's still too early to give a timeline since drawings and specifications have yet to be completed," Faubert said.
Road closure hurting businesses
Jacques Junior Rainville is a long-time employee of Chez Jack, a food truck serving French fries, hamburgers and the like in Pontiac. The business is at the junction of Highway 148 and Eardley-Masham Road.
He said business has been slower this summer and he believes it has something to do with the prolonged closure.
"It's very bad ... Business has been cut almost in half," Rainville said, adding that the season also started a bit later due to spring flooding.
Just across the street, Richard Lacasse also saw a drop in business. His restaurant Au coin du camionneur had lots of clients from Masham, north of Gatineau Park.
"I would say I lose at least 10 to 15 clients per day," he said in a French-language interview. "I was supposed to have more clients during the summer."
