The overpass near the Demix quarry, one of the five bridges on Laval island to be inspected by Ville de Laval.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo:Concorde
Johnson Commission decamps, for now
42,000 hours of work later, many questions left unanswered
With the final cost still to be determined, the Johnson commission investigating the collapse of the Concorde overpass has already racked up expenses of $3.492 million (as of June 30), most of which has been eaten up by billed work attributed to commission personnel and operating costs ($2.092 m) and expert witnesses and technical analysis ($1.4 m).
As of July 19, the hours of billed work totaled 42,000 (30,000 for commissioners and their personnel and 12,000 for their consultants). The hours billed for July have yet to be factored in. To the $3.492m will have to be added the costs of the commission’s post-July proceedings (hearings for lawyers for all parties presenting arguments for the collapse (set to begin July 31), and the time required for the writing of the report, the final version of which is due to be made public on October 15, 2007.
Expensive experts
The work of the commission does not come cheap. And given the latest revelations concerning the state of Quebec overpasses, 135 of which have been declared ‘troubled areas’, most taxpayers will say this is money well spent. Commission chairman Pierre-Marc Johnson earns $245 an hour, followed by commissioners Roger Nicolet at $150 and Armand Couture at $146. In all, administrative costs have amounted to $506, 200 with the three commissioners costing taxpayers $293,067 to date. Another $654,600 has been spent for offices, computers, hearing rooms, and office supplies. Legal costs ($407,700) and consultation fees ($1.359m) are some of the other big ticket items. An unspecified amount went for the creation of a giant concrete model at a McGill University laboratory to replicate the Concorde viaduct and the probable causes of its collapse.
Although there was no consensus from the testimony of the nine expert witnesses appearing before the commission in the past five months, Chairman Johnson maintained the commission has identified the areas on which there is agreement and thus can derive its conclusions as to the causes of the collapse. To reach its conclusions, the commission will have to weigh conflicting evidence as to whether the viaduct crashed from the inside because of unavoidable factors such as thermal heat from the sun and subsequent hot asphalt which generated cracks in the cold concrete, or from the effects of sheer cracks which began to appear on the exteriors of the overpasses as of 1992.
Dozens of questions remain to be answered concerning the work of contractors and subcontractors relative to conformity with the existing building codes of the day. A judgment on whether the codes that did exist were themselves stringent enough to meet safety standards, will also have to be made. The preliminary answer to the question of safety standards appears to be no.
The commission’s final report, said Mr. Johnson, will include recommendations to the government on improvements in construction, management, and monitoring of all highway structures “so this never happens again.”
ST:Safer structures?
The rebuilding of the Concorde overpass cost taxpayers about as much as the Johnson commission itself. The bill for both Concorde and the De Blois overpass, demolished voluntarily by Transport Quebec because of fears that it too would collapse from flaws similar to those at Concorde, totaled $ 8 million.
Although the costs to taxpayers of the work to be done on the 135 highway structures declared ‘troubled areas’ by the Transport Department is yet to be determined, Pierre-Marc Johnson has already fired the first shot at the modus operandi of the ministry’s employees. “They (the employees) have to be vigorous and systematic in the employment of their resources in a context that is not always easy, but the people of Quebec count on their efforts to assure their safety,” Mr. Johnson stated in his closing remarks on the last day of the public hearings.
Of what concern should the revelations of flawed structures be to Laval residents? None, relative to any of the bridges identified by Quebec's Department of Transport (MTQ), but nonetheless the city has decided to closely inspect five overpasses with characteristics similar to those of Concorde and De Blois – the absence of "protection against shear cracking". Under the law, Laval is compelled to do this since as a city with a population over 100,000 it has responsibility for the maintenance of road structures within its jurisdiction. Quick to respond to the MTQ revelations, mayor Gilles Vaillancourt declared a state of emergency for the five overpasses in question to be examined. The five overpasses are located at: Cartier Blvd, near the Armand-Frappier Institute; Chemin de la Station, near des Laurentides Boulevard, close to Highway 440; the two spans over St-Martin Boulevard East near the railway tracks; and the overpass at St-Martin Blvd. near the Demix quarry, mid-way between des Laurentides and Notre-Dame-de-Fatima Avenue.
According to Paul Lemay, Ville de Laval spokesperson, the inspection of the overpasses will be completed by no later than tomorrow, Monday, July 23. Appropriate measures to restrict certain types of traffic on these bridges will be adopted if necessary.
Photo:ViaducDemix2
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo:Concorde
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Météo: Laval, 18 juillet 2008 / 19°C
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/ Vents: 11 Km/h / Humidité relative: 88 % 
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
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