Quebec Stabilized Construction Entrances and Trackout Control
Environment Quality Act, MELCCFP Authorization, and Sediment Control
Quebec is defined by water, above all the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries, along with the Ottawa and Saguenay rivers, Lake Saint-Jean, and thousands of lakes and salmon rivers across the Laurentians, the Gaspe, and the boreal north. Construction concentrates in the Montreal and Quebec City regions and along the province's highway and hydro corridors. On all of it, keeping sediment on the job site and off public roads is a core compliance duty, and a stabilized construction entrance is one of the first controls installed and inspected.
Quebec Environmental Regulation
Quebec regulates construction discharges under the Environment Quality Act (Loi sur la qualite de l'environnement), administered by the Ministere de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP). The Act prohibits the emission, deposit, or discharge of contaminants into the environment beyond permitted limits, and it requires a ministerial authorization for activities that may affect water and the environment, now handled through MELCCFP's electronic authorization system. Because construction sediment is a contaminant that degrades water quality, controlling it at the source is central to compliance. Quebec projects also fall under the federal Fisheries Act, so letting sediment reach a fish-bearing river, including the province's salmon waters, can carry federal liability on top of provincial authorization requirements.
Municipal and Transportation Requirements
Municipalities across Quebec, including Montreal and Quebec City, set erosion and sediment control expectations and require sediment to be kept out of the storm sewer system and nearby watercourses. On provincial road work, the Ministere des Transports et de la Mobilite durable specifies erosion and sediment control through its standard specifications. In each case an erosion and sediment control plan is prepared for the site, and the construction entrance is one of the controls watched most closely because tracked sediment moves straight from the road into the storm system.
The Aggregate Construction Entrance and Its Limits
Quebec guidance describes the traditional construction entrance as a pad of coarse aggregate placed over a geotextile fabric at every site exit, built to knock sediment loose from tires, with runoff directed to a sediment control.
The weakness of the aggregate pad is maintenance. As the stone compacts and fills with sediment, it stops cleaning tires and must be topped up with fresh rock, and any material tracked onto the road has to be removed promptly. When the stone pad alone is not enough, a wheel wash sprays tires with pressurized water and drains to a sediment trap, which adds water handling and cleanout and can leave ice on the road through a Quebec winter. Each traditional option carries a recurring cost and a maintenance cycle that a durable manufactured entrance can avoid.
FODS as a Compliant Construction Entrance in Quebec
Quebec evaluates a construction entrance on whether it performs the required function, removing sediment from tires before vehicles reach the road, and the operator specifies the chosen practice in the erosion and sediment control plan. FODS Trackout Control Mats can be named directly in that plan as the site's stabilized construction entrance, satisfying the same purpose as the aggregate pad while removing the loose stone and the heavy maintenance the traditional design depends on. Keeping sediment out of the storm system also helps a project stay within its authorization under the Environment Quality Act and clear of Fisheries Act exposure near Quebec's rivers.
FODS Trackout Control System
The FODS Trackout Control System is a reusable, manufactured construction entrance made of high-density polyethylene mats with a pyramid-shaped surface that works like the rough edges of crushed stone. As vehicles pass, the pyramids deform the tires and open the tread so sediment breaks loose and collects in the voids between the pyramids, clear of the tires. Each mat measures about 3.7 metres by 2.1 metres, and the modular design lets contractors build the entrance to fit the site. On high-traffic projects the system has reduced street sweeping by 59 percent compared with aggregate.
The mats install over any substrate without excavation and can be relocated quickly as work advances, which suits the phased highway, infrastructure, and hydro work common in the province, and they perform in the wet and freeze-thaw conditions of a Quebec winter without the saturation and ice problems of rock pads and wheel washes. Because the system uses no loose stone, there is nothing to lodge in dual tires or migrate onto active roadways, and maintenance is a quick pass with a skid steer broom, a powered sweeper, or a FODS shovel. With a service life of more than ten years, the same mats can be reused across projects, which shifts the cost of a construction entrance from a recurring expense to a one-time investment.
Risks of Vehicle Trackout on Roadways
Safety is a primary concern wherever construction traffic meets a public road. Aggregate exits deposit stone and debris onto pavement, creating hazards for drivers and workers, and loose rock can lodge between dual tires and be thrown at speed. Wheel washes add the burden of supplying and containing water, and in cold weather dripping vehicles can build ice on Quebec roadways. FODS uses a rockless, water-free technique to clean tires and does not carry the same risk of injury or liability as aggregate entrances. The mats are durable and reusable across many projects, which reduces the environmental impact tied to aggregate production, hauling, and disposal. On Quebec sites that drain to the St. Lawrence or the province's rivers and lakes, keeping stone and sediment off the road also helps keep it out of the water and out of fish habitat protected under the Fisheries Act.
Additional Resources
Quebec Environment Quality Act (Loi sur la qualite de l'environnement)
MELCCFP - Environmental Authorizations
Ministere des Transports et de la Mobilite durable