Ontario Construction News staff writer
Two essential agreements have been signed to launch the first calls for tender on the Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass project.
“My heart goes out to the citizens of Lac-Mégantic. I strongly believe in the importance of the bypass project,” said Pablo Rodrigues, transport minister. This is a project like no other and trains must leave downtown.
“I am committed to doing everything possible to achieve this goal as soon as possible.”
A contribution agreement was signed between the federal government and the City of Lac-Mégantic to allow preparatory work for the construction of the bypass, a project that includes reconstruction of city-owned municipal infrastructure and its relocation to the industrial park. The City of Lac-Mégantic will oversee planning and implementation of the work.\
The Government of Canada also signed a contribution agreement with Central Maine & Quebec Railway Inc. (CMQR), a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), for the construction of the bypass project. The agreement outlines the terms and fundamental principles under which the railway operator will carry out the project. It will also enable the launch of the tendering process to contract a firm to carry out the work.
“Lac-Mégantic was affected by the worst rail tragedy in the country. Every day, we continue to hear and see the train running in our downtown core, and it has to stop,” said Julie Morin, Mayor of Lac-Mégantic. “Having obtained the necessary authorizations and commitments to proceed last week, we can confirm that on we launched the call for tender that will allow us to begin preparatory work on our municipal infrastructures in the industrial park.
“This is a concrete step towards the realization of a project that has been 10 years in the making.”