The drilling campaign studying the soils in anticipation of the construction of the third link will cost $16.2 million, or $4.2 million more than initially planned.

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Last week, the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, was pleased to present the new phase of a geotechnical drilling campaign, with eight soil tests carried out in the St. Lawrence River, on the seabed, between the centers cities of Quebec and Lévis.

This sequence followed a first drilling campaign that took place two years ago. Indeed, in July 2020, the Ministère des Transports (MTQ) awarded a $12 million contract to the SNC-Lavalin / Englobe Corp consortium.

In October of the same year, the experts had started work in the field. Their mandate was to carry out “terrestrial and marine drilling and soundings as well as the characterization of the soils and rock in place for the Quebec-Lévis tunnel project”.

Wide territory

At the time, the MTQ indicated that the $12 million contract was a maximum for a period of three years and that it would be used to cover all the geotechnical needs for this project. It concerned a very large portion of the territory, ranging from the tip of Île d'Orléans to downtown Quebec and Lévis.

However, in July 2021, a modification was made to the contract, i.e. an addition of $4,167,875.23, justified by "unforeseeable damage or constraints that cannot be known before the work", we learn by consulting the electronic system. government tender.

In its explanation, the MTQ indicates that "the offshore drilling portion is highly complex and additional modifications had to be made to the barge, in particular to ensure the level of stability and for the construction of a platform and the addition of mobile piles allowing the anchoring of the equipment to the seabed”.

No project notice yet

Moreover, this preparatory work is underway despite the fact that the MTQ has not filed the project notice necessary to trigger the environmental assessment of the third link, Le Devoir revealed this week.

This process aims to determine the environmental impacts of the tunnel. These will therefore not be known before the next elections, nor will the opinion of the various ministries on the admissibility of the project. It should be noted that the Québec tramway had to undergo this process.