Inspired by the Crunge
Some things take longer than expected and some just never get done. That seems to be the story of a famous highway project here in the Quebec City area, which has stretched across the lifetime of many residents without ever getting the “finished” stamp on the blueprints. In fact, we’re now into retrograde mode for one infamous section which could be known as the bridge to nowhere.
Back in the 1970’s, when the roadbuilding industry seems to have mesmerized those officials responsible for common sense, the village that would be a city decided to build superhighways. Part of the build it and they will come disease. The city was encircled and crisscrossed with enough concrete to do something (else) useful, and the onramp became the icon of choice, aiming to replace the Chateau in the hearts of residents. If you had a car, you could go anywhere. If you didn’t; well (fill in the appropriate suggestion here for the officials to ignore). Forget the bicycle. Forget the common sense of “transport en commun”. We’re on a roll here. In fact, let’s be like the big city down the highway and build a tunnel or two. Just because we can.
The Great Plan called for a tunnel underneath the Parliament on the Hill, coming out of the cliff near the river and providing a rumour mill with the reasoning of it being a quick escape route for the heads of state if anything ever happened. In no particular order, the ramps to the tunnel-to-be were constructed on one side, a hole was begun into the rock, and then they stopped. Lunch break.
More than three decades later, the ramps remain. The beginning of the tunnel has inspired other dreams; a theatre, a hotel, a museum. It has served as a fatal mantrap for some curious youth. The ramps have been featured in some low budget music videos. The supporting pillars have been used as display media for professional grade graffiti. The ghosts of a former Chinatown play hide and seek. And now, the surplus ramps are coming down.
As of this morning, several sections are already gone, and by the return of winter the ramps will be part of the collective memory. I can visualize it, to the soundtrack of Led Zeppelin in The Crunge. “I can’t find the bridge”.
For those who are visuals, here are a sampling of images and some other images.
Aerial view
Before
After
