Confusion over who was responsible for overpass, inquiry hears

An engineer who worked on Highway 19 in Laval, Que., in the late 1960s and early '70s didn't know who was responsible for supervising construction of the Concorde overpass, he told the inquiryinto thestructure's collapseon Tuesday.

Marcel Dubois was the chief engineer on site forDesjardins Sauriol, theengineering and construction companythat workedon the highway.

The firm was in chargeof extending Highway 19, which included building four overpasses, among them the Concorde.

Dubois said he was in charge of budgeting and administration for the project and supervising road construction on site.

When asked if thatincluded overpasses, Dubois said he was only responsible for surface roads.

Dubois couldn't remember who was responsible for supervising the overpass construction, he said.

He was introduced to someone responsible for supervising the overpass construction at his boss's office, he testified, but he couldn't remember that person's name. He never saw him again after that one meeting, he said.

Five people, including a pregnant woman,were crushed to deathon Highway 19 on Sept. 30, when a section of the concrete overpass fell and crashed on cars driving underneath. The inquiry into the collapse of the overpass began earlier this month.