MONTREAL — An unfortunately positioned utility pole, which gained national notoriety for its position smack in the middle of a rural Quebec highway, is gone.
It survived there for two months. Fortunately, all the motorists who drove past it survived, too.
No accidents were reported as a result of the bizarre phenomenon of infrastructure planning — or lack thereof. Players involved in the project blamed poor communication for the fact that the pole wasn’t removed in time from the path of a newly paved road.
The pole ended up there as the result of miscommunication between transport and utility officials following a months-long roadwork project.
As late as Monday, officials expressed regret that the pole would have to stay there for a few more days.
On Tuesday morning, the lamented landmark was seen in newspapers across the country. By Tuesday afternoon, it had suddenly been removed.
A Transport Quebec spokeswoman said late Tuesday that the pole was gone and workers were filling up the hole. The site was located on Highway 251 in a village near Sherbrooke, Que.
It’s not clear what happened but Transport Quebec spokeswoman Caroline Larose says an internal investigation is ongoing.