Residents of Chemin de la Butte-aux-Renards send a petition to the City of Varennes to complain about truck traffic.

The Quebec Transport Minister responds to the City’s requests stating that “the traffic flow on the road section is much lower than the capacity for which the road was built. Additionally, no road in this area could adequately accommodate heavy traffic from the quarries.”

The City of Varennes proposes two routes in agricultural territory for a bypass road. Demix and BauVal, the operators, initially support the project. After a preliminary notice from the CPTAQ (Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec) indicating its intention to approve one route and reject the other, which would involve a slight detour for the transportation of raw materials, both companies withdraw their support and reject the remaining route during the CPTAQ hearing.

The Commission de protection du territoire agricole (CPTAQ) rejects both routes. In its decision, the CPTAQ states that the flow of heavy traffic (approximately 200 truck passes per day) has remained stable since 1980.

The Administrative Tribunal of Quebec confirms the decision of the Commission.

The road was rebuilt and reinforced to withstand heavy truck traffic. Simultaneously, and following accidents, the road markings were revised to prohibit vehicle overtaking on the stretch between Highway 30 and Chemin des Carrières.

The residents of chemin de la Butte-aux-Renards are convinced that the road reinforcement was being prepared for the future Turcot project. Instead of building a bypass road in anticipation of the heavy truck traffic, the City of Varennes chose to disregard the health and well-being of its citizens and instead allow the continuous transport of raw materials, 24/7, day and night, on a street with 15 residential homes.

KPH Turcot signs the construction contract for the new Turcot Interchange and commissions the CRH Group, Demix Construction division, for the supply of fill stone at the Varennes quarry.

Traffic studies commissioned by the City of Varennes confirm a significant increase in heavy traffic.

Residents file a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction and damages to stop the trucking. After waiting a full year for Martin Damphousse and the municipal council to take action and fix the problem, the citizens of Chemin de la Butte-aux-renards were left with no choice.

This is one of the videos presented to Judge Kirkland Casgrain when the residents of Chemin de la Butte-aux-Renards filed a request to end the 24/7 trucking, which had been imposed on them since the spring of 2016, including daytime, evening, and night, including weekends.

In response to the citizens’ incessant complaints about the intense heavy truck traffic (on average, 1,300 passes or more per 24 hours), the company DEMIX installs speed display signs (the city of Varennes approved the installation without assuming any responsibility). Simultaneously, traffic Regulation 534 is modified to reduce the speed limit to 50 km/h, and “Caution: Children at Play” signs are added.

Judge Kirkland Casgrain grants an interim injunction limiting the truck traffic flow pending a substantive hearing scheduled in a year or two. CRH/Demix Group, KPH Turcot, and BauVal appeal this decision.

The Court of Appeal upholds the ban on deliveries during evenings, nights, and weekends imposed on CRH/Demix but allows them to make deliveries on three Saturdays per year from 6 am to 2 pm. However, the court removes all restrictions imposed on BauVal.

Judge Michel A Pinsonnault acknowledges ‘the extent and severity of the inconveniences suffered and the physical and psychological distress directly caused by the passage of an astounding number of heavy trucks in front of their residences at all hours of day and night.’ He orders CRH to pay compensation to citizens for the years 2016 and 2017 but refuses to issue a permanent injunction on nighttime and weekend trucking. The residents of Butte-aux-Renards appeal this decision.

The Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec rejects the bypass request (tracé 2 – extension of chemin des Carrières), but THE CPTAQ RECOMMENDS the bypass via Montée de la Baronnie (tracé 3).

Without resolving the issue or continuing the search for a solution, Martin Damphousse and the municipal council of the city of Varennes, consisting of Brigitte Collin, Carine Durocher, Benoit Duval, Guillaume Fortier, Geneviève Labrecque, Gaétan Marcil, Natalie Parent, and Marc-André Savaria, declare that the bypass road case is “closed”, thereby abandoning the residents of Chemin de la Butte-aux-Renards.

The court rejects the appellants’ motion for permission to present crucial new evidence regarding the decision of the CPTAQ on August 23, 2022.

The case will be presented in appeals court