Quebecers wary of overpasses, bridges: poll

Ten months after the deadly Laval overpass collapse,most Quebecers are still scared to cross bridges and highway structures, according to a new poll published Monday.

The Lger Marketing survey, commissioned by the Journal de Montral, alsosuggests most Quebecers blame the province's Transport Ministry for neglecting roads and highways, and allowing them to decay over the years.

The poll of1,000 Quebecers was conducted over two days earlier this month and published Monday.

Fifty-four per cent ofthose surveyeddo not feel safe driving on or under an overpass or bridge, and 61 per cent thinkthe transportation department is not living up to its responsibilities towards drivers.

Even the mayor of Laval said he has been concerned about the general state of roads and highways since the Concorde overpass on Highway 19 collapsed last fall, crushing five people to death.

"I don't feel safe," Gilles Vaillancourt told CBC News on Monday during an interview about a project to plant trees along major roads to buffer traffic noise. "I'm always anxious."

Vaillancourt said he'll go out of his way to not stop under an overpass, whether it's at a red light or because of traffic congestion.

But he's confident that the government's promise to reinspect some 135 bridges and structures over the next few months will find trouble spots and repair them.

That sense of optimism is rare among drivers, said Lger Marketing vice-president Christian Bourque.

"Quebecers do not really trust the authorities in place to really do their job right, and settle the issue.

"If you have a lack of public trust at a time where we actually need to make sense of the situation, and [determine] which overpasses or bridges are dangerous, you're not starting from a really good position," Bourque said on Monday.

Quebecers also have little faith the Johnson commission investigating the overpass collapse will change anything, Bourque added.

Poll respondents question commission

About 10 per cent of people polled thought the commission, headed by former premier Pierre Marc Johnson, will actually lead to better road inspection standards and safer highways.

A warning from the commission in June led the province to ban double tractor-trailers from 135 bridges and structures until all inspections are done and required repairs are completed.

The structures were singled out because they were built in a similar design as the Concorde overpass.

The inspection work, which could take until the end of the year,is expected to cause huge hassles on highways as commercial drivers will have to reroute large cargo trucks to avoid the flagged overpasses and bridges.

The poll, conductedJuly 18 and 19, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.