Bridge repairs at the Rapide‑7 and Rapide‑2 generating stations

Service interruptions are not expected to affect residents of Cadillac and the neighbouring communities. Short-term interruptions are to be expected for customers who live near the generating station, including outfitters.

Hydro-Québec will be sure to notify all clients concerned before each interruption.

For the duration of the work, the Rapide‑2 bridge will be closed to all traffic. To minimize the impact of the bridge closure on users, Hydro‑Québec will have a pathway installed for pedestrians and ATVs at Rapide‑2 generating station. However, this pathway will not be accessible at all times. The ATV and pedestrian pathway will only be accessible when the worksite is not active. Furthermore, it is expected that from May 2023 to September 2023, it will not be possible to cross the Rivière des Outaouais at Rapide‑2 generating station. This period is required to manufacture and install the pathway.

A dedicated telephone line will provide information on the opening hours of the pathway. Once the line is up and running, we’ll make an announcement in the Info-Project newsletter, which you can sign up for on this web page.

Opening of the bridge to transport boats at the beginning and end of the season

As it will not be possible to tow a boat over the pedestrian and ATV pathway, Hydroe‑Québec will require the general contractor to open one lane on the bridge for four consecutive days, twice a year (early May and late October) to allow vehicles towing boats to cross.

A number of users of the Rapide‑2 bridge moor their boats at docks on the right bank during the summer.

A dedicated telephone line will provide information on the opening hours of the lane. Once the line is up and running, we’ll make an announcement in the Info-Project newsletter, which you can sign up for on this web page.

Work will continue during hunting season. The work takes place within the facility perimeter.

Projects like rebuilding the bridges at our Rapide‑7 and Rapide‑2 generating stations and repairing the spillways must be assigned to specialized firms.

In April 2021, a contract was awarded to Pomerleau inc. of Lévis to undertake the work on Rapide‑7.

On April 7, 2021, in an effort to generate benefits for the regional economy, Hydro-Québec hosted the Rendez-vous de la sous-traitance subcontracting information session so companies could approach Pomerleau inc. Over 40 local businesses were in attendance, and Pomerleau inc. awarded subcontracts to nearly a dozen of them

A second call for tenders was launched in August 2022 to continue the sequence of work planned for Rapide‑7. In total, the cost of the contracts to rehabilitate the Rapide‑7 bridge and spillway will amount to about $80 million (two contracts added).

A call for tenders for the work on Rapide‑2 generating station was launched in November 2022. We estimate that the contract that will be granted in 2023 for the Rapide‑2 work will be of a similar value to the contracts related to the Rapide‑7 worksite.

We plan to hold another networking event once the contracts have been granted, during winter 2023.

In August 2020, Hydro-Québec launched a regional RFP to turn five houses it owns in the vicinity into jobsite offices. The Rouyn-Noranda company Blais Industries Inc. won the contract.

The purchase of goods and services (accommodations, food and beverages, gas) will also benefit the regional economy. There were 30 to 40 workers at the Rapide‑7 site during the first two years of the project. The Rapide‑2 site (year 1 from May 2023 to December 2023) is expected to employ the same number of workers.

Under current legislation, the work to repair the concrete structures at Rapide‑7 and Rapide‑2 does not require an environmental assessment to proceed.

These assessments generally apply to projects to build new electricity generation or transmission facilities.

Although there is no legal requirement to do so, Hydro-Québec will maintain close contact with the groups and individuals concerned. For the duration of the project, we can be contacted through the Info-Project line at 1 833 364-5384 or by email at Godin.Karine@hydroquebec.com.

The communications plan initiated in fall 2020 is ongoing. Hydro‑Québec met with (or at least contacted) nearly 30 organizations to provide information on the work and bridge closures.

Nearly 300 vacation or rough shelter lessees near our Rapide‑2 and Rapide‑7 facilities were contacted by mail with letters inviting them to contact Hydro‑Québec. More than 40 have communicated with us directly since the beginning of the consultation via email, the Info-Project line or in person at meetings.

Communications with bridge users will continue throughout the entire rehabilitation work for Rapide‑2 and Rapide‑7 generating stations. You are invited to subscribe to the Info-projet – Réhabilitation des ponts aux aménagements de Rapide‑7 et Rapide‑2 newsletter to stay informed about the progress of the work and the measures in place to minimize inconveniences related to bridge closures. You can sign up by clicking Subscribe at the bottom of this page.

For more information about the pedestrian and ATV pathway that will be built at Rapide‑2, please see the Bridge closure tab.

Contact us: Info-project line 1 833 364-5384 or Godin.Karine@hydroquebec.com.

A spillway helps manage the flow of a river during flood seasons. A flood is a one-off rise in the water level. This natural phenomenon is often observed during the spring snowmelt as well as in periods of heavy and sustained precipitation.

The Rapide‑7 spillway

No. The work will have no effect whatsoever on the level of the Rivière des Outaouais.

A drop of water that passes through a Rapide‑7 turbine takes a full six hours to get to Rapide‑2, where it will go through another turbine.

Photos from the Hydro‑Québec archives dating from the construction of the Rapide‑7 development. Rapide‑7 generating station is the second station built in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, after Rapides‑des‑Quinze generating station in 1923.

In 1939, when construction to build Rapide‑7 began, a “company village” was created near the jobsite. With the advent of semi‑automation in 1967‑1968, it was no longer necessary to lodge workers nearby. This marked the beginning of the end for the village.