On Thursday, February 26, the Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) d’Argenteuil Council unanimously voted to demand that the Government of Québec immediately implement temporary safety measures along two-lane sections of Autoroute 50 until the four-lane widening is fully completed.
The resolution states that Autoroute 50 is an essential road corridor between the Laurentides and the Outaouais, vital for the daily travel of thousands of citizens and to the proper functioning of economic, social, and institutional activities. It also noted that the MRC has been calling for concrete safety measures for approximately 10 years to secure transportation along the route, but the response has not matched the urgency of the situation.
Autoroute 50 has posed a serious safety risk, as illustrated by repeated collisions, loss of life, and serious injuries. The resolution notes that numerous coroners’ reports have explicitly concluded that the highway’s current configuration is a key factor in many accidents.
Additionally, the resolution highlighted that since the beginning of 2026, numerous serious and fatal collisions have already been recorded, and in recent years, the highway has averaged 800 collisions annually, including nearly a dozen fatalities. The motion stressed the impacts behind the broken families, severely injured people, and the first responders under stress from responding to consistent accidents along the route.
The resolution calls for the swift installation of safety guardrails on sections identified as priorities and the implementation of risk-reduction measures, including speed reduction, overtaking prohibition, enhanced signage, and increased police surveillance and intervention.
