La Pêche awarded $2.4 million to improve Riverside Drive
Updated: Sep 8, 2020
(L-R) Chelsea Mayor and MRC des Collines Prefect Caryl Green, Gatineau MNA Robert Bussière, and La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux attended the announcement of more than $2.4 million to improve and maintain Riverside Drive at a press conference on the patio of Nikosi Bistro Pub on Sept. 4
By Stuart Benson
Robert Bussière, MNA for Gatineau, announced a grant of more than $2.4 million to help improve and maintain Riverside Drive in the municipality of La Pêche, at a press conference Sept. 4.
The $2,431,983 grant, announced on the patio of Nikosi Bistro Pub at 721 Riverside Dr. in Wakefield, was awarded as part of the Local Road Assistance Program which aims to assist municipalities in the planning, improvement and maintenance of the local road network for which they are responsible.
“The base of any [municipality] is good roads,” Bussière said. “If you want tourism or development of any kind, you need good roads.”
Bussiere explained that the program, through the Ministry of Transport, is part of a general plan the government adopted to help municipalities update their roadwork and that $310 million has been added to the program in the 2020-2021 budget to contend with the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19.
La Pêche Mayor Guillaume Lamoureux, who also attended the announcement called the grant of nearly $2.5 million “unprecedented.”
“We’ve switched gears when it comes to pursuing grant applications in recent years and it’s paying off,” Lamoureux said. “I’m really thankful for all of the work the administration has done.”
The money will be used to offset the costs of updating and improving three kilometres of Riverside Drive, a project with a total price tag of more than $3.5 million.