BAIE-COMEAU, Que. — An $80,000 study which included a door-to-door survey will determine the socio-economic impact of extending Route 138 from Havre-Saint-Pierre to Natashquan.

Transport Minister David Collenette and Quebec’s Associate Minister of Transport and Minister responsible for Quebec Marine Jacques Baril made the announcement in early February.

Hwy. 138 was extended in 1993 under the former Canada-Quebec Strategic Highway Improvement Program, designed to develop Quebec’s highway infrastructure.

A commitment to conduct a follow-up study of the area to measure the effects of the extension, once a sufficient amount of time had passed, was undertaken by the co-chairs of this program (representatives from Transport Canada and Quebec’s Ministere des Transports).

“The study is designed to assess the socio-economic impact of highway access to the affected communities, which formerly lacked a permanent road for year-round access,” says Collenette.

Analysis of the data will provide valuable insight into the economic impacts of the project, both from the commercial and tourism perspectives, and will help clearly define orientations for similar types of projects in the future for the Quebec government,” says Baril.

The study was funded under the former Strategic Highway Improvement Program through a Federal-Provincial 50-50 cost-sharing agreement and was expected to be completed this month.