At the regular municipal council meeting held on Tuesday, February 11, the majority of Coteau-du-Lac's elected representatives refused to spend between $7,000 and $18,000 to repair a pedestrian bridge located on municipal territory that requires emergency work. 

The resolution stemmed from an agreement to share the cost of repairing the pedestrian bridge over the Soulanges Canal. The infrastructure is located in Coteau-du-Lac's Thomas-Monroe Park, and links the park to the Coteaux municipal campground off Route 338. It is in this green space that L'Embouchure takes place during the summer season.  

Crédit photo: Olivier Langevin 

“Under this agreement, between $7,000 and $18,000 will be invested to finance emergency work on this important infrastructure, which is regularly used by the region's pedestrians and cyclists during the summer months. The total bill of $75,000 will be divided between the Ville de Coteau-du-Lac, the Municipalité des Coteaux and the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The localities will assume 25% of the costs, and the MRC will pay 50%.  For our part, the sum required would be taken from the Park Fund budget item,” explained Coteau-du-Lac Mayor Andrée Brosseau, before the resolution was put to the vote.  

Three councillors against the proposal 

On the subject, District 1 Councillor Alain Laprade spoke out against the resolution. “I'm against it because we don't know how much further work will be required to repair the structure. Even if the costs are shared, I'm going to vote against it, because we don't have all the data in hand on the work to be done.” 

His District 2 colleague François Décosse also voted against the resolution. For his part, District 3 Councillor André Legros voted in favour of going ahead with the project. “The bridge is really unsafe right now. When you walk on it, in some places you can see the river. In my opinion, it's urgent to get the work done before an accident happens. All the more so as there are children on this bridge.” 

District 4 representative Isabelle Lemay voted against the resolution. District 5 Councillor Christine Arseneault was absent. District 6 councillor Patrick Delforge voted in favour of the resolution. 

As three councillors voted against the resolution, it was not adopted. Faced with this refusal, District 3 Councillor André Legros asked the municipal administration to analyze the possibility of closing the bridge due to its dangerous nature.  

Replacement of planks, anchors, joints and bearings 

Asked about the work to be done on the bridge, Soulanges Canal Park General Manager Marianne Sigouin-Lebel agreed to elaborate. “If the agreement is signed soon, we will be responsible for issuing the mandates, coordinating the work and following up with the other parties,” she confirms by e-mail. 

The aim of the work is to extend the structure's lifespan, so that it can continue to be used until it is replaced. “According to the inspection report commissioned from EXP in 2023, the condition of the infrastructure does not pose an imminent risk to user safety. The Embouchure Bridge is essential to the connectivity of the Soulanges Canal Park and the Louis-Stanislas-Pariseau, Thomas-Monroe and Emblem parks, as well as the Coteaux campground. Consequently, there is no question of closing this bridge for the 2025 season, but we do hope that the work will be carried out to guarantee its functionality for the region's citizens, pedestrians and cyclists, and precisely to avoid a possible closure for safety reasons.” 

The work would involve replacing boards, tightening or replacing anchors, joints and bearings. If the agreement is signed quickly, the work could be held back until summer 2025. 

Faced with Coteau-du-Lac's refusal to join the agreement, the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC was asked about the next steps. “The bridge rehabilitation project as proposed assumes the participation of the MRC and the towns concerned, according to the proportions and maximum amounts determined in the draft agreement.  Should this proposal not be ratified by the parties before March 31, 2025, discussions will be initiated to consider this project at a later date.  It's important to emphasize that the proposed rehabilitation is designed to extend the life of this infrastructure; the bridge remains safe and its use is not compromised in the short term,” explains Alexandre Lambert, General Manager of the regional authority. 

At the time of writing, the Municipality of Les Coteaux had not yet made a decision on the future of this project.