Some Quebec coastal towns have no road to connect them. Will a new approach finally provide a link?
Quebec hopes a new way will get Highway 138 finally finished. Locals are uncertain
Ever since Paul Rowsell returned home after attending university in the late 1970s, he says the population in his hometown of Harrington Harbour, Que., has started to dwindle.
An island off the coast of Chevery, Que., it swells to a mere couple hundred people in the summer, he says.
But he's continuing to see towns along Quebec's Lower North Shore shrinking as a highway connecting coastal communities isn't being extended fast enough. It's a recipe which could lead to some towns disappearing completely, he says.
Highway 138 extends all the way up Quebec's Lower North Shore but abruptly ends in Kegaska before picking up again in Vieux-Fort — just 75 kilometres southwest of the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
About a dozen towns between Vieux-Fort and Kegaska have long advocated for the progression of the road — which would connect them to the rest of the province.
"We've been hearing so much about this over the years. There's been study after study after study in my lifetime," said Rowsell.
Last week, as part of the provincial budget, Quebec revealed the investments for the extension of Route 138 have been suspended in Quebec's infrastructure program and will instead be made part of an intervention plan to be carried out by the Quebec Transport Ministry.
The ministry plans to review the project plans, including its schedule, cost and scope. According to the government, this will enable the extension of Highway 138 to be completed more quickly and at a lower cost. The province says the change should give the project a boost.
Gilles Monger says people have been waiting for the highway extension since the 1980s. Resident and chairman of the Tête-à-la-Baleine local committee, he fears the review process will cause further delays.
"Are we going to redo all the work that was done by the engineering firms? [Are] we going to start from scratch?" said Monger. "Every time there are changes at government level on these issues, it takes almost forever."
"Will it be real this time?... And not just simply promises that they repeat every decade?"
Although some sections have been built in recent years, little has been done to open up his community of just over 100 residents, he says.
Ivonne Fuentes knew what she was getting into when she moved to the town five years ago, just before the pandemic. The isolation comes with perks: knowing everyone in town and not having to lock your doors.
"It's a way of living. [It's] very special," said Fuentes.
But having travelled south frequently for medical appointments for her chronic illness, Fuentes says a road would improve connectivity and access to services, especially given unreliable and often harsh weather which can contribute to last-minute flight cancellations or delays for fly-in communities.
Some towns don't even have reliable access to the airport, says Gladys Driscoll Martin, warden of the MRC Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and mayor of Saint-Augustin, Que.
"Lots of times we can't even make it to the plane to get our appointments to go to the hospital," said Martin. "This is not only [in] our community."
Saint-Augustin's airport is located just across the river next to the Innu community of Pakuashipi. In the winter, Martin says people use the "white trail," a snowmobile route.
It's not the most practical solution, she says, considering how reliant these two communities are on each other. She also wants to guarantee fellow residents are not stuck in town and unable to get out during wildfires, for example.
"Some of our communities, especially [the] ones who got no roads, they're decreasing every year ... So it's very important that this road file be looked at and done as fast as possible," said Martin.
While the ministry says this new approach could result in fast and cheaper progress, Martin says "I got my doubts."
In an emailed statement, the Transport Ministry said this investment strategy was prepared to ensure that money is spread across the whole region.
"These choices will ensure that public resources are managed more efficiently," read the statement.
Having followed the progress of the road for decades, Paul Rowsell says sitting down to "do the math," does not make him hopeful for the project and it's construction.
"You could be looking at another 100 years literally at the rate they're going," he said. "I'm 65 so I don't really expect to see it."
He just hopes his town won't become like Aylmer Sound — a community north of Harrington Harbour that saw its population shrink to the point where it closed in 2007. The closure cost the government $1.7 million.
"After a while the school closed. There weren't any children. The clinic closed," explained Rowsell.
"If the road would come through, these towns would still be small but they wouldn't disappear."
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With files from Hénia Ould-Hammou and Radio-Canada