"Montreal is falling down, falling down, falling down ... "

The Mercier is dubious. The Champlain is suspicious. Turcot is troubling. And now you can add the Ville-Marie tunnel to the (increasingly lengthy) list of places I'd really rather not drive in Montreal.
Yesterday morning a 15-metre by about 1-metre thick slab of concrete (25 tons worth!) crashed down across all three lanes of the eastbound tunnel. It was a Sunday morning miracle that nobody was killed. But it certainly doesn't inspire confidence in the state of the city's infrastructure.
Of course investigations are still ongoing and a large part of the tunnel is closed indefinitely as we ponder what exactly is going on here. One theory in yesterday's collapse is that people working on the tunnel walls somehow jarred the section loose with their vibrations. But it obviously wasn't a concern at the time because the tunnel was wide open to traffic. And if it's really that fragile, what about the vibrations from the hundred thousand plus vehicles that use the tunnel every single day?
This province has a sad history with our roadways and bridges. The du Souvenir and de la Concorde overpass collapses are still all too fresh in people's minds, and we certainly don't want any repeats. A combination of age, extreme weather, excessive traffic, questionable construction quality and inadequate maintenance can be deadly. Hopefully this very narrow escape from tragedy will wake up the province to the realization that we have to be far more diligent with our roadways. I know Quebec City is the jewel in the province's crown, but Montreal is its driving engine and if people don't want to drive here - or live or work here - the whole province will suffer. It's high time our biggest city gets some big investments. Next time we might not be so lucky.