Quebec City-Lvis tunnel feasible but costly

A team of experts hired by Quebec'sTransport Ministry says building a tunnel between Quebec City and Lvis is possible, but the project would cost around $4 billion.

Bruno Massicotte, acivil engineer and professor at Montreal's cole Polytechnique,presented the results of the one-year feasibility study Tuesday, which cost the government $100,000.

Massicotte says building the 7.8-kilometretunnel would take around 13 years. Maintenance over the next century would cost an estimated$2.3 billion, for a total cost of $6.3 billion.

"Technically, it's feasible. There are other tunnels of this size that have been built under the same conditions in other places," saidMassicotte.

Sandy soil would drive up costs

The sandy soilof the northern bankof the St. Lawrence River where the tunnel would be located means construction crews would have to injectcement into the sand to solidify the tunnel's structure, and that would drive up the cost.

"The sand is full of water, so in case of a major earthquake it would liquefy and turn into water for a few seconds. That's why the tunnel has to be bigger, tougher," saidMassicotte.

In case of a major earthquake, [the sand]would liquefy... That's whythe tunnel has to be bigger, tougher.- BrunoMassicotte, civil engineer andprofessor at thecolePolytechnique

This technology is fairly new, and Massicotte says building the tunnel wouldn't have been possible a decade ago.

He says for a long time, people questioned if it would besafe to build over Logan's Line, a geological fault beneath the St.Lawrence.

"The fault hasn't been active for more than 250 million years. There can be earthquakes for other reasons, but the Logan's Line is not an obstacle," saidMassicotte.

Quebec's next move

The study was handed over to the Quebec government last April, said Massicotte.

"Every morning I am reminded that we need to improve traffic fluidity on the region's two bridges, and we will continue to," said Minister of Transport Laurent Lessardin a statement.

Dominique Vien, the minister responsible for the Chaudires-Appalaches region, saidshe has asked the Ministry of Transport to look into different scenarios.

Meanwhile, a local non-profit organization which promotes urban planning and public transportation says building a third link to connect bothshores would bethe wrong way to go.

"We need to focus on the Rapid Bus Transit that is currently in the works," saidtienne Grandmont, the executive director of Accs transportsviables.

"That is the best solution to improve traffic and diminish urban sprawl."