Driving takes on a whole different meaning in Quebec. Major construction is corrupt. When was the last time you heard of anything collapsing in Canada.
Oh yeah. The sides and roof of the Olympic stadium in Quebec.
10/04/2007 4:54:03 PM
Eyewitnesses to the collapse of the Quebec overpass that killed five people and crushed two vehicles have begun to testify at the public inquiry into the incident on Tuesday.
One eyewitness, Claude Girard sped up through the overpass in Laval when he noticed it had begun to vibrate.
Soon after, the overpass collapse and Girard immediately made an emergency call on his cell phone.
"I saw a blue truck fall from the viaduct (above),'' he said.
"I saw movement in the vehicle so I handed my son the phone to make the call and advise the police that the viaduct had fallen.''
Another eyewitness, Michel Beaupre, was driving toward the viaduct when it fell.
"I saw the overpass had dropped two or three feet on the west side,'' Beaupre testified.
He said the east side of the overpass followed quickly and the entire structure collapsed "like a wave.''
The public inquiry into the collapse of a highway overpass near Montreal on September 30, 2006 began Tuesday with a moment of silence to remember the people killed in the incident, CTV Montreal's Annie DeMelt reported.
"We hope the commission's work on the collapse of the Concorde overpass will allow our fellow citizens to regain confidence about their safety when they're driving on and below bridges and viaducts in Quebec,'' commission chair Pierre Marc Johnson said in his opening remarks.
The mandate of the commission is to report on what caused the collapse of the bridge and to issue recommendations that ensure that the event does not happen again.
The Johnson commission is scheduled to hear the testimony of eyewitnesses, ambulance workers, police officers and technical experts over the next few months.
The testimony of a Transport Quebec inspector, expected Wednesday, who noticed material crumbling from the overpass structure 45 minutes before it collapsed is expected to be a significant eyewitness account.
However, an engineering expert is questioning the focus of the inquiry.
"A technical inquiry is what we need," bridge engineer Helen Christodoulou told CTV Montreal.
"I understand that this is a tragic event and we want to ensure that the government is looking after the interests of the public and ensuring that infrastructures like that do not collapse.
"But by questioning family members and parties who were not involved at all in any of these phases from the outset until the time of the collapse, certainly has a peripheral interest rather than a direct interest."
Last October, Montreal's La Presse, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, reported that the overpass collapsed because steel reinforcing rods were installed incorrectly in the structure.
The sources claimed investigators probing the collapse had concluded that parts of the overpass were poorly aligned and that corrosion weakened the structure.
The appointment of Johnson, a former Parti Quebecois premier, as chair of the inquiry has drawn criticism from Quebec political leaders.
When it was initially announced Johnson had been appointed as commissioner chairman, Quebec political leaders expressed concern that he could remain impartial in handling the report.
When the inquiry, which was set to begin in February, was delayed, ADQ Leader Mario Dumont accused Johnson of delaying the start of the inquiry so that embarrassing facts would not surface during last month's provincial election in Quebec.
Johnson, who obtained permission from Quebec Premier Jean Charest to release the report on Oct. 15, denied the allegations, saying lawyers and engineers needed more time to prepare for the hearings.
With a report from CTV's Annie DeMelt and files from The Canadian Press
Oh yeah. The sides and roof of the Olympic stadium in Quebec.
10/04/2007 4:54:03 PM
Eyewitnesses to the collapse of the Quebec overpass that killed five people and crushed two vehicles have begun to testify at the public inquiry into the incident on Tuesday.
One eyewitness, Claude Girard sped up through the overpass in Laval when he noticed it had begun to vibrate.
Soon after, the overpass collapse and Girard immediately made an emergency call on his cell phone.
"I saw a blue truck fall from the viaduct (above),'' he said.
"I saw movement in the vehicle so I handed my son the phone to make the call and advise the police that the viaduct had fallen.''
Another eyewitness, Michel Beaupre, was driving toward the viaduct when it fell.
"I saw the overpass had dropped two or three feet on the west side,'' Beaupre testified.
He said the east side of the overpass followed quickly and the entire structure collapsed "like a wave.''
The public inquiry into the collapse of a highway overpass near Montreal on September 30, 2006 began Tuesday with a moment of silence to remember the people killed in the incident, CTV Montreal's Annie DeMelt reported.
"We hope the commission's work on the collapse of the Concorde overpass will allow our fellow citizens to regain confidence about their safety when they're driving on and below bridges and viaducts in Quebec,'' commission chair Pierre Marc Johnson said in his opening remarks.
The mandate of the commission is to report on what caused the collapse of the bridge and to issue recommendations that ensure that the event does not happen again.
The Johnson commission is scheduled to hear the testimony of eyewitnesses, ambulance workers, police officers and technical experts over the next few months.
The testimony of a Transport Quebec inspector, expected Wednesday, who noticed material crumbling from the overpass structure 45 minutes before it collapsed is expected to be a significant eyewitness account.
However, an engineering expert is questioning the focus of the inquiry.
"A technical inquiry is what we need," bridge engineer Helen Christodoulou told CTV Montreal.
"I understand that this is a tragic event and we want to ensure that the government is looking after the interests of the public and ensuring that infrastructures like that do not collapse.
"But by questioning family members and parties who were not involved at all in any of these phases from the outset until the time of the collapse, certainly has a peripheral interest rather than a direct interest."
Last October, Montreal's La Presse, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, reported that the overpass collapsed because steel reinforcing rods were installed incorrectly in the structure.
The sources claimed investigators probing the collapse had concluded that parts of the overpass were poorly aligned and that corrosion weakened the structure.
The appointment of Johnson, a former Parti Quebecois premier, as chair of the inquiry has drawn criticism from Quebec political leaders.
When it was initially announced Johnson had been appointed as commissioner chairman, Quebec political leaders expressed concern that he could remain impartial in handling the report.
When the inquiry, which was set to begin in February, was delayed, ADQ Leader Mario Dumont accused Johnson of delaying the start of the inquiry so that embarrassing facts would not surface during last month's provincial election in Quebec.
Johnson, who obtained permission from Quebec Premier Jean Charest to release the report on Oct. 15, denied the allegations, saying lawyers and engineers needed more time to prepare for the hearings.
With a report from CTV's Annie DeMelt and files from The Canadian Press
