While it might not come as a surprise to most Quebecers, a recent government report shows that more than half of the province's major roads need to be repaired.

"Nobody's waking up this morning saying 'Oh, our roads are so much worse than they were yesterday,'" said Transport Minister André Fortin.

"It's something Quebecers know. They use the roads every day. We're putting forward the proper money to fix the issue."

The province's public infrastructure report shows that half of the 31,000 kilometres of roads under the province's care are rated "poor" or "very poor."

The government says it would need to spend $15 billion in repairs alone to fix its crumbling streets, highways and overpasses.

But Quebecers behind the wheel shouldn't worry about their safety, according to Fortin.

"The roads are safe and inspected regularly by the ministry," he said.

Quebec Transport Minister André Fortin said the Quebec government is prepared to invest in Quebec's road network. (Francis Vachon/Canadian Press) Over the next decade, the province plans to spend nearly $20 billion on Quebec's road network as part of a sweeping public infrastructure plan.

Martin Ouellet, the spokesperson for the Parti Québécois on transportation, said that investment isn't nearly enough.

"From what I understand, the Liberal model of cuts, investments, cuts, investments will not hold up the roads," he said.

"Money isn't in the right place. If we continue with these deficits, we'll just patch up our roads."

'This change has to be done'

While the government is prepared to fix the poor state of its roads, one expert in urban planning says it neglected the problem for too long.

"There is a surface maintenance, which is fine and which is done fairly often, but actually these roads were often built maybe 30, 40, 50 years ago," said Richard Shearmur, a professor with the McGill School of Urban Planning.

"And now its the foundations of the roads which are beginning to degrade in many places which is why the surface needs redoing so often."

The province should invest in rebuilding the roads entirely, he said, instead of simply patching them up.

Suzanne Roy, the mayor of Sainte-Julie and former president of the Union des municipalités du Québec, agrees and said she wasn't surprised when she learned the number of highways and roads in poor shape.

She said that Quebec spent decades without investing in the road network, especially at the municipal level, and now it has to be fixed.