LAC-MÉGANTIC RAIL BYPASS
LOCATION: LAC-MÉGANTIC and municipalities of FRONTENAC AND NANTES
Issue: Lac-mégantic rail Bypass update
Date: March 18, 2021
Suggested Responses
- In May 2018, the governments of Canada and Quebec announced their commitment to build the Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass Project.
- Since then, significant progress has been made. The provincial environmental assessment and the feasibility study were completed, and the relocation of railway activities to the Lac-Mégantic industrial park was integrated into the project, responding to community requests.
- Transport Canada continues to work in collaboration with the Canadian Pacific Railway and other partners involved to implement this important social reconstruction project.
If Pressed
- The land acquisition process is well advanced. The evaluation of properties were completed during the past year and offers should be made to landowners in the next few months.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- On May 11, 2018, the Prime Minister of Canada, together with the Premier of Quebec, announced the Rail Bypass in Lac-Mégantic. The project, which is estimated to cost $133 million, will be funded by the federal government (60%) and the Province (40%). In December 2019, Canadian Pacific Railway bought the Central Maine & Quebec Railway, and has indicated publicly they will continue to support the project.
- The feasibility study conducted by the municipality of Lac-Mégantic was completed with the submission of the final report by the engineering firm AECOM in September 2020. This report was transmitted to the Canadian Pacific Railway for review to ensure that the proposed design meets its operating methods. Once this work has been completed, the plans and specifications phase can be launched.
- The provincial environmental assessment is now completed. As a result, 138 mitigation measures will be integrated into the project. These measures will be implemented in order to minimize as much as possible the impacts of this project on the community and the environment.