October 2006 ISSUE
Collapse in Laval Focuses National Attention on Infrastructure Deficit
The tragic collapse of an overpass in Laval, Que., strengthens the engineering profession’s call for a long-term approach to infrastructure funding, the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers says in a news release. The Sept. 30 accident killed five people.
“It is unfortunate that it takes events such as September 30 to get Canadians to pay attention to issues such as infrastructure renewal and maintenance,” said Marie Lemay, P.Eng., ing., the council’s CEO.
Hopefully this tragic event did not happen in vain and we, as a society, will learn from it and make the conscious decision to reinvest in infrastructure, using a long-term, holistic approach, as well as lifecycle management guidelines.”
Long-term, adequate funding is needed from all levels of government to support this approach, added Ms. Lemay.
For the past three years, CCPE has taken a leadership role in calling for the creation of a national round table on sustainable infrastructure. This group would be independent and multi-stakeholder, and would advise on decisions involving sustainable infrastructure. With an initial focus on public works, the round table would bring together an important, diverse community of more than 35 representatives of government, including all orders of government, says the CCPE.
The round table would “provide a broad perspective, drawing upon the expertise of a range of stakeholders from both inside and outside of government,” said Ms. Lemay.
She said Canadians need to be re-educated about the importance of infrastructure maintenance and the urgent need to invest in renewing the roads, sewers and water systems Canadians rely upon every day. Construction of new buildings and roads are visible signs of economic prosperity.
nfrastructure renewal, however, does not have the same appeal for taxpayers.
News reports have speculated that corrosion, rust and higher-than-expected use played a role in the collapse of the 36-year-old overpass in Laval.
However, Dr. David Lau, P.Eng., who teaches civil engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, said in a Global report that the collapse could be a symptom of the condition of Canada’s infrastructure. In the internet story he said that regular infrastructure maintenance is a problem across the country.
Mr. Lau said the engineering community has long warned of an infrastructure deficit. Projects ranging from water sewage systems to bridges are built but not properly maintained due to lack of resources or planning.
“In general, our bridges are in poor shape,” said Mr. Lau, who stressed he couldn’t speculate on the cause of the Laval collapse.
“Many of these (bridges) were built quite some years ago, and over the years, because of a lack of resources, I think we are going to see the effectof the delay of a lot of this maintenance.”