Autoroutes of Quebec

The Autoroute system in the province of Quebec, Canada, is a network of expressways which operate under the same principle of controlled access as the Interstate Highway System in the United States or the 400-Series Highways in neighbouring Ontario. The autoroutes are the backbone of Quebec's highway system, spanning over 1,900 km. The speed limit on Quebec's autoroutes is generally 100 km/h (63 mph) in rural areas and 70-90 km/h (44-57 mph) in urban areas.

The word "autoroute" means "expressway" in French.Fact|date=September 2008 In the 1950s, when the first autoroutes were being planned, the design documents called them "autostrades", from the Italian word autostrada.Fact|date=February 2007

Numbering system

Autoroutes are identified by blue and red shields, with the red header image representing a highway overpass. Quebec's Autoroutes are numbered from 1-99 in the case of principal routes, and from 400-999 in the case of collector routes or deviation routes (what Americans would term bypass routes) designed such that truck traffic can by-pass urban areas. In the case of deviation routes, the hundreds prefix is even-numbered (e.g., 400, 600, 800), whereas collector routes have odd-numbered prefixes (e.g., 500, 700, 900). For example, A-40 is an Autoroute, the A-640 is a deviation route, and the A-740 is a collector route linking the A-40 to other Autoroutes.

East-west autoroutes are assigned even numbers, and north-south autoroutes are assigned odd numbers; autoroutes that are parallel to the Saint Lawrence River are considered east-west, and those which are perpendicular are considered north-south. Most autoroutes have a unique name in addition to their numerical designation, and both designations are commonly used (e.g. "the Décarie", "the 15").

History of Quebec's Autoroutes

Quebec's first Autoroute was the "Autoroute des Laurentides" (Laurentian Autoroute), which opened in 1959 as a toll road. This initiative to bring freeways into Quebec was started by Maurice Duplessis, whose government saw the construction of the Laurentian Autoroute (now A-15) from Montreal to Saint-Jérôme and the first section of the Boulevard Métropolitain (A-40), which opened in 1960.

1960s

It was the Quebec Liberal government of the 1960s that saw the construction of further Autoroutes, with a grid numbering system and the introduction of the blue and red shield. The sign is inspired by the American Interstate sign. This was especially needed in light of the fact that many visitors would be flocking to Montreal by car for Expo 67. Montreal's "Autoroute Décarie" (A-15) and the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel were constructed for that very reason. The "Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est" (Eastern Townships Autoroute) opened in 1964, and its continuation, A-55 between Magog and Rock Island, opened in 1967, connecting with Interstate 91. What are now the A-20 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway) and the A-15 to New York (connecting with Interstate 87), originally built in the 1940s, were upgraded to expressway standards. The A-20 also connects with Highway 401 in Ontario. A-40 was extended out to Berthierville, and later to Trois-Rivières in the 1970s. Others include Autoroutes 25, 30 (proposed southern beltway), 31, 35 (eventually connecting to I-89), and 640 (an unfinished proposed northern beltway).

1970s

The 1970s also saw the completion of the Pierre Laporte Bridge in Quebec City, connecting the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the north. In addition to this, the A-73 was extended to Beauce, the A-20 was extended to Rivière-du-Loup, and the Chomedey Autoroute (A-13), the A-19 and the A-440 were constructed in Laval. Autoroutes were built (two sections of A-440, and A-740) and a few more planned in the Quebec City region, creating a dense web, which led to significant sprawl. During the 1970s, the Parti Québécois came to power, whose platform mandated an expansion of public transportation over the construction of more Autoroutes. Existing Autoroutes were extended (e.g., the A-40 was extended from Trois-Rivières to Quebec City) but no new Autoroutes were built.

The Autoroute des Laurentides, the Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est, the Autoroute de la Rive-Nord (North Shore Autoroute), and the A-13 were toll roads until the mid-1980s, when the toll barriers were removed and the province stopped collecting tolls from vehicles using the Autoroutes.The last toll booth was on the Champlain Bridge. It was later removed because the Champlain Bridge is federal property and is thus not subject to provincial tolls.

List of Autoroutes in Quebec

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[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=20+Chemin+de+la+Rivi%C3%A8re,+Chelsea,+QC,+Canada&daddr=45.438122,-75.707431&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&mra=dme&sll=45.430774,-75.688505&sspn=0.020841,0.045319&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=45.506828,-75.764465&spn=0.166501,0.362549&z=12 Map of Autoroute 5] [http://www.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Rte-105+%26+Aut-5,+Wakefield,+QC&daddr=Aut-5+%26+Chemin+Maclaren,+Wakefield,+QC Map of northern segment]
* Name: "Autoroute de la Gatineau"
** Description: From the Pont Cartier-MacDonald in Gatineau to chemin de la Rivière in Chelsea
** Length: 21 km (13 miles)
** History: First opened in 1964, from the bridge to Route 105 (Gatineau, Exit 5); last section opened in 1991, from chemin Scott to chemin de la Rivière (Chelsea, Exits 13 to 21)
** Notes: An isolated divided four-lane section of Route 366 exists in La Pêche, which is planned to be connected to the existing A-5 by the end of this decade, extending A-5 to 33 km in length. This section has A-5 signposts as well as Route 366 signposts.

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* Name: "Richelieu Autoroute / Autoroute Haut-Richelieu (unbuilt)"
** Description: From the A-15 in La Prairie to Route 235 in Farnham
** Length: Approximately 55 km (34 miles)
** History: Planned in the 1960s, A-6 was to roughly parallel Route 104. The western half of the route was canceled by the mid-1970s. The rest of the route was killed a few years later. Reconstruction of A-15 through La Prairie in the mid-2000s removed a grassy median at km 49 where ramps were to be built for a directional T-interchange to connect with A-6.

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[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Rue+University+%4045.498370,+-73.561580&daddr=AUT-10+E%2FAUT-55+N%2FAutoroute+J-Armand-Bombardier+%4045.438310,+-71.957610&sll=45.444717,-71.92749&sspn=0.136094,0.333366&ie=UTF8&z=9&om=1 Map of Autoroute 10]
* Name: "Autoroute Bonaventure" or "Bonaventure Expressway"
** Description: From the A-720 ("Autoroute Ville-Marie") to Île des Sœurs in Montreal
** Length: 4.1 km (2.5 miles)
** History: First opened in 1967

* Name: "Eastern Townships Autoroute"
** Description: From the Champlain Bridge to Autoroute 610 in Sherbrooke
** Length: 143 km (89 miles)
** History: First section (Montreal-Longueuil across the Champlain Bridge) opened in 1962. Much of A-10 opened in 1964 with the completion of the Eastern Townships Autoroute.
** Notes: The portion east of Autoroute 55 (linking that autoroute with Route 112) was renumbered as Autoroute 610 on September 29, 2006. [http://www.estrie.gouv.qc.ca/actualites/communiques/affichage_communique.asp?txtnum=15499]

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* Name: "Autoroute Chomedey" (originally "Autoroute Mirabel")
** Description: From the A-20 in Montreal to the A-640 in Boisbriand
** Length: 21.4 km (13.3 miles)
** History: First opened in 1975, it was originally to extend to Mirabel International Airport but was cancelled, and likely will never be constructed.

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* Name: "Autoroute 15 Sud" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute Monteregie")
** Description: From the United States border at Lacolle (continues as Interstate 87 in New York) to the Turcot Interchange (A-20 West) in Montreal
** Length: 62.6 km (38.9 miles)
** History: Construction of this section of the A-15 was completed in 1967

* Name: "Decarie Expressway"
** Description: From the Turcot interchange to the A-40 interchange in Montreal
** Length: 7.4 km (4.6 miles)
** History: the autoroute is parallel to the Decarie boulevard (hence the name); from Côte-de-Liesse to Queen-Mary Road on the south, it was built on a wide expanse of vacant land, donated to the City by the Décarie estate on the condition that only a streetcar line be established. When the streetcar system was dismantled in 1959, it was an obvious right-of-way for a highway, so the Décarie autoroute was dug there. South of Queen-Mary road, however, were a significant number of houses which were demolished. In order to avoid demolishing the Notre-Dame-de-Grâces church, the highway veers west south of Côte-Saint-Luc, and runs between Appleton and Botrel streets, all the way to Saint-Jacques street, where it spectacularly goes from below-ground to well above ground as it intersects with Autoroutes 20 and 720 in the infamous Turcot Interchange (dubbed "Spaghetti Junction" by train crews operating the CN Rail Turcot Yard). Following the conversion from streetcar line to highway, the Décarie Estate unsuccessfully sued the city but was unable to prevail because they did not document their case well enough for the nevertheless sympathetic court.

* Name: "Laurentian Autoroute"
** Description: From the A-40 interchange to Route 117 in Sainte-Agathe
** Length: 89.4 km (55 miles)
** History: First opened in 1958; the last section was completed in 1974
** Its three notorious curves in Laval/St-Jérôme were to ensure the expropriation of land that belonged to friends of premier DuplessisFact|date=February 2007
** Notes: Route 117 continues northward as a four-lane divided expressway. It is possible that A-15 could be extended beyond Mont-Tremblant.

* Name: "Autoroute Wilfrid-Laurier"
** Notes: Reserved for autoroute conversion of Boulevard Wilfrid-Laurier (Route 116).

* Name: "Autoroute des Bois-Francs"
** History: A-18 was planned in the early 1970s to extend east from Autoroute 55 through Victoriaville, Quebec toward Autoroute 65 in Plessisville, Quebec.

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[http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.053176,0.104452&saddr=Boulevard+Dagenais+E+%26+autoroute+Papineau,+Vimont,+QC,+Canada&daddr=avenue+Papineau,+Ahuntsic,+QC&hl=en Map of Autoroute 19]
* Name: "Autoroute Papineau"
** Description: boul. Henri-Bourassa in Montreal to Autoroute 440 in Laval
** Length: 10.1 km (6.3 miles)
** History: First section was opened in 1970 (boul. H-Bourassa to boul. Lévesque), final section was completed twenty years later
** Notes:
***Most of the section in Montreal is an urban arterial (Avenue Papineau). It was originally meant to be the eastern counterpart of Autoroute-15, connecting with the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, but it was decided not to gut yet another swath of housing within the City of Montreal. The portion south of Autoroute-40 no longer occurs as part of A-19.
***The extension north of A-440 was not assigned to A-19 but Route 335 north of A-440 was shifted onto it from boul. des Laurentides.

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* Name: "Autoroute du Souvenir" (from Rivière-Beaudette to Turcot interchange) and "Autoroute Jean-Lesage" (from Boucherville to Rivière-du-Loup) (known as the "Montreal-Toronto Highway" throughout the West Island)
** Description: Ontario-Quebec border at Rivière-Beaudette (continues as Highway 401 in Ontario) to rue Père Nouvel in Rimouski
** Length: 541.7 km (336 miles) - the longest Autoroute in Quebec
** History: Construction of the A-20 began in 1964. It should be noted that the A-20 is a part of the Trans-Canada Highway, from the A-25 interchange (Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel) up to Route 185 at Rivière-du-Loup
** Notes: Autoroute 20 is composed of two separate segments. The western segment extends from the Ontario border to Saint-Georges-de-Cacouna, and the eastern segment is a bypass of Rimouski, which was extended in 2003 to Luceville. A section of this highway from Vaudreuil-Dorion eastward to the Galipeault Bridge (approximately 4 miles or 6.4 km) is a congested arterial four lane road. It is slowly being upgraded to Autoroute standard.
** Future: There are plans to connect both segments - extending the western segment to Trois-Pistoles and eventually connecting with the Rimouski bypass, and the eastern segment will likely extend from Luceville to Mont-Joli
** This autoroute has the peculiarity of having a railroad crossing at grade in Saint-Hyacinthe, immediately east of the Boulevard Laframboise overpass. For this particular crossing, the Code de la sécurité routière du Québec has been amended to allow buses to cross this crossing without making the customary mandatory stop. Train crews are instructed in their special operating instructions to call the Sûreté du Québec police to stop the traffic before crossing the highway.

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[http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.106349,0.208903&saddr=7250+Boulevard+Henri-Bourassa+E,+anjou,+qc&daddr=Rue+Arsène+%26+Boulevard+Marie-Victorin,+Longueuil,+QC,+Canada&hl=en Map of southern section of Autoroute 25]
* Name: "Autoroute Transcanadienne" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute de Lanaudière")
** Description: The A-25 is divided into two sections: the first section connects the A-40 to the A-20 (Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel-Bridge) and the second runs from the Pie-IX Bridge to Route 125 in Saint-Esprit
** Length: 49.9 km (31 miles)
** History: The first section was completed in 1967 and is a part of the Trans-Canada Highway while the second section was completed up to Saint-Esprit in 1999
** Future: There are long-term plans to extend A-25 all the way to Route 347 in Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci which would double its length to 100 km. A section of Route 125 is currently expressway-grade, which would form the northern end of A-25, connected by 30 km of new highway. No timeline is currently set.

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* Name: "Autoroute de l’Acier (formerly Autoroute de contournement sud de Montréal) "
** Description: Autoroute 30 consists of four sections: the first detours Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, the second detours the Kahnawake reserve, the third links Saint-Constant (at the junction of Autoroute 15) to Sorel, and the final section links Route 132 with Bécancour
** Length: 122.7 km (76 miles)
** History:
** Future: There are plans to link up separate segments of the route. A new alignment bypassing Saint-Constant south of Route 132 will be built, although there will be a two-kilometer overlap with Autoroute 30 and will be linked between Chateauguay and Vaudreuil-Dorion. The existing A-30 segment around Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will be renumbered as A-530 and will connect with the new A-30 bridge of the Saint Lawrence River. When finished, A-30 will provide a southern bypass of Montreal. There are plans afoot to connect the third and fourth segments.

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[http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=0.105640,0.208903&saddr=boulevard+dollard+at+rue+de+Salaberry,+joliette,+qc&daddr=Rue+de+Leemans,+Lavaltrie,+QC,+Canada&hl=en Map of Autoroute 31]
* Name: "Autoroute Antonio-Barrette"
** Description: A short Autoroute that follows Route 131 between the A-40 and Joliette
** Length: 14.3 km (8.9 miles)
** History: Completed in 1966

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[http://www.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=AUT-10+%26+35,+Carignan,+QC&daddr=AUT-35+%26+Boulevard+D%27Iberville,+St-Athanase,+QC Map of Autoroute 35]
* Name: "Autoroute de la Vallée-des-Forts"
** Description: A short Autoroute that connects Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Iberville (now forming one city) to the A-10; it was briefly designated as the "Autoroute de la Nouvelle-Angleterre" but the name was revised before any signs were posted. A-35 ends at Route 133, which continues to the Canada/United States border where it connects to Interstate 89.
** Length: 19.2 km (11.9 miles)
** History: Completed in 1967
** Future: A-35 will be extended to finish the freeway link to I-89 via some new alignments and upgrading of certain expressway sections of Route 133. Some have also called for a northern extension to Sorel-Tracy, although there are no immediate plans for that.

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* Name: "Autoroute Félix-Leclerc" ("Autoroute Métropolitaine" between A-15 in the west and boul. H.-Bourassa in Montreal in the east; "Autoroute de la Rive Nord" between the Rivière des Prairies and )
** Description: From the Ontario-Quebec border at Pointe-Fortune (continues as Highway 417 in Ontario) to
** Length: 347.1 km (216 miles)
** History: The A-40 is a part of the Trans-Canada Highway from the Ontario border to the A-25 interchange. The first section of the Autoroute Métropolitaine opened in 1960. The Autoroute Métropolitaine was originally intended to be below-ground, like the , to separate the residential suburb from the industrial area to the north.
** Future: It is envisioned that A-40 will be extended eastward, possibly as far east as area increases. There are no immediate plans to extend A-40, however.

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[http://www.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Route+du+Canton+%26+Aut-50,+Brownsburg-Chatham,+QC&daddr=Aut-50+%26+Rte-117,+Mirabel,+QC Map of eastern segment of Autoroute 50]
* Name: "Autoroute Maurice-Richard"
** Description: The A-50 is not a complete route; the first segment, in the east, starts at Route 117, connects the A-15 to Route 148 west of Lachute, near a bridge over the Ottawa River to Hawkesbury, Ontario -- this section includes an at-grade railway crossing and another intersection lacking on/off ramps. (This is rare for a freeway). The second segment, in the west, links Hull to Masson-Angers.
** Length: 59.2 km (36.8 miles)
** History: The western section of this Autoroute was originally named the "Autoroute de l’Outaouais", as it follows the path of the Ottawa River (Rivière des Outaouais) on the Quebec side.
** Future: Construction on an extension from Masson to Thurso is still under construction as of 2007; further expansion will see the western segment extend from Thurso to Fassett. Ultimately, in the longer term, A-50 is envisioned to be completed between Fassett and Lachute, closing the gap in the freeway. Slight westward extensions are also possible, however it is unlikely to extend beyond Aylmer, and should it do so, it would most likely be a Super-2.
** Extension opened December 2004 with new exits 171 to Chemin Lépine in Buckingham and 174 to Chemin Doherty in L'Ange Gardien

* Name: "Autoroute 51"

[http://maps.google.com/maps?spn=1.694743,3.342453&saddr=shawinigan,+qc&daddr=stanstead,+qc&hl=en Map of Autoroute 55]
* Name: "Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier" (south of Autoroute 20) and "Autoroute Transquébécoise" (north of Autoroute 20)
** Description: From the United States border at Stanstead (continues as Interstate 91) to Route 155 in Shawinigan
** Length: 247.3 km (154 miles)
** History:
** Notes: A section of A-55 south of Drummondville was planned to be part of A-51; A-55 was to continue south along the current A-955 alignment before veering west. Some sections remain a Super-2, although those are currently being twinned.** History:

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* Name: "Autoroute de l'Amiante"
** History: A-65 was planned in the early 1970s to extend from Autoroute 20 south to Thetford Mines, Quebec. It may have been planned as far south as an easterly extension of Autoroute 10 near Lambton, Quebec.

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* Name: "Autoroute 70" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute Alma-La Baie")
** Description: From Chicoutimi to Jonquière
** Length: 17 km (10.6 miles)
** History: Completed up to Jonquière in 2002
** Future: Autoroute 70 will be extended from Jonquière to Alma, and eastward from Chicoutimi to La Baie

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[http://www.google.ca/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Rte-276+%26+Aut-73,+St-Joseph-de-Beauce,+QC&daddr=Aut-73+%26+Rte-175,+Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury,+QC Map of Autoroute 73]
* Name: "Autoroute Robert-Cliche"
** Description: This Autoroute shares the Pierre Laporte Bridge in Quebec City from Lévis to Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce
** Length: 61.3 km (38.1 miles)
** History:
** Future: A short extension to Beauceville is currently under construction, and there is a proposal to extend A-73 even farther south to Saint-Georges

* Name: "Autoroute Henri-IV", "Autoroute Laurentienne"
** Description: A short trunk route linking Quebec City to Stoneham, just north of Quebec City
** Length: 27 km (16.8 miles)
** History:
** Future: Long extensions are underway, which will extend A-73 farther north through the Laurentians and up to the Saguenay region along the Route 175 corridor.

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* Name: "Autoroute 85" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute du Temiscouata")
** Description: From Rivière-du-Loup at A-20 to the New Brunswick border south of Degelis
** Length: 98 km (62 miles) once completed
** History: The newest Autoroute, officially designated in December 2005. Replacing Route 185. Part of the Trans-Canada Highway. [http://communiques.gouv.qc.ca/gouvqc/communiques/GPQF/Decembre2005/09/c5574.html] A short freeway section, less than 2 km in length, had already been constructed at A-20 but only designated as Route 185. Other freeway sections are being built (discontinuously) and A-85 shields are going up on them.
** Future: Additional construction is planned to complete A-85 to the New Brunswick border to connect with Route 2 and to fill in remaining gaps.

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* Name: "Autoroute Jacques-O'Bready" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute de l'Université")
** Description: Short spur from the A-10 to the Université de Sherbrooke
** Length: 5.3 km (3.3 miles)
** History: Completed in 1978. Renamed in 2007 after the death of Jacques O'Bready, the former mayor of Sherbrooke.
** Future: Autoroute 410 is planned to connect with Route 108 just east of Lennoxville, allowing truck traffic to completely bypass the congested town. It will pass south of the town, before connecting near the experimental farm to the east.

* Name: " Mount Royal Autoroute (referred as the Northern leg of the downtown loop)"
** Description: Downtown Montreal expressway loop (short spur route) that included the Decarie (A-15), Ville Marie (A-720), and Papineau (A-19) autoroutes.
** Length: 7 kilometer (4.3-mile), 3 (1.8 miles) of those 7 kilometers planned as a tunnel under Mount Royal.
** History: In its 1960 master highway plan, the Montreal Metropolitan Committee proposed a new seven kilometer (4.3-mile) long autoroute along the city's east-west street grid at the northern edge of downtown. The six-lane autoroute was forecast to handle as many as 4,500 vehicles per hour during weekday peak periods. Beginning at the Decarie Autoroute at Monkland Avenue in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace section of the city (at the current EXIT 66 on A-15), the Mount Royal Autoroute was to extend in a northeasterly direction through Westmount underneath Mount Royal Park before emerging above ground at Rachel Street connecting to the unbuilt A-19 Montreal section of what is now Papineau Avenue.

* Name: "Autoroute 430"
** History:

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* Name: "Autoroute Laval"
** Description: From the A-13 west of Laval to the A-25 on the east side of Laval.
** Length: 13.2 km (8.2 miles)
** History: Construction on this section of the A-440 was completed in 1979

* Name: "Autoroute Charest", "Autoroute Dufferin-Montmorency"
** Description: Short spur routes in Quebec City
** Length: 12.5 km (7.8 miles)
** History:

* Name: "Autoroute Côte de Liesse"
** Description: This route connects the A-20 and Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to the A-40/A-15 interchange
** Length: 7.8 km (4.8 miles)
** History: Completed in 1966

(future)

* Name: "Autoroute 530" (no official name yet)
** Description: This route will be the new designation of what is now A-30 bypassing Salaberry-de-Valleyfield where a new bridge across the St. Lawrence River will be constructed connection to the current A-540.
** Length: 14 km (9 miles)
** History: Currently most of the route is signed as A-30, with a short section unfinished where the A-530/A-30 interchange will be.
** Future: A-530 is expected to be completed and designated in 2009.

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* Name: "Autoroute 540"
** Description: Connects the A-40 and A-20 in Vaudreuil-Dorion
** Length: 4.9 km (3.1 miles)
** History: Completed in 1967. The A-30 extension is scheduled to connect with it by 2009.

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* Name: "Autoroute Duplessis"
** Description: Runs from the Pierre Laporte Bridge to Route 138 in Quebec City
** Length: 5.1 km (3.2 miles)
** History: Completed in 1966

* Name: "Deschênes Autoroute (unofficially Britannia-Deschênes corridor)"
** Description: Eastern terminus: Autoroute de l'Outaouais (A-50); Western terminus: Britannia Bridge (unbuilt) (Ottawa/Gatineau-Aylmer border)
** Length: unknown
** History: This freeway would be a Gatineau bypass, plus a link to the Western Ottawa-Carleton Regional Municipality. Thus, ON-416 would be easily linked from the Quebec side of the National Capital Region and downtown Gatineau would be bypassed. Also, A-50/A-5 movements would be easier. However, the Transport Ministry of Quebec stated in 1996 that there was no need for an Outaouais Urban Community (now city of Gatineau) bypass, but keeping the corridor for a further boulevard or freeway in a NCC-partnership was to consider. The plan calls for construction of a bridge (Britannia Bridge) crossing the Ottawa River.

* Name: "Autoroute Henri-IV"
** Description: This is an extension of A-73, which runs from the A-73/A-40 interchange to Route 369 in Quebec City
** Length: 7.8 km (4.8 miles)
** History: Completed up to Route 369 in 1998

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* Name: "Autoroute Louis-Bilodeau (formerly part of Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est)"
** Description: Links Autoroute 55 and Autoroute 10 to Route 112 in Sherbrooke.
** Length: 11 km
** History: Was part of Autoroute 10 until September 29, 2006. Renamed in 2008 in honor of Louis Bilodeau, a former local television personality.

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* Name: "Autoroute 640" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute de contournement nord de Montréal")
** Description: Runs the length of the north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles from Saint-Joseph-du-Lac to the A-40 interchange in Charlemagne
** Length: 54.8 km (34 miles)
** History:

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* Name: "Autoroute Ville-Marie"
** Description: This Autoroute passes under downtown Montreal through the Ville-Marie tunnel, but the length of the route runs from the Turcot interchange up to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. The A-720 becomes an urban boulevard called "Ville-Marie" at the bridge and later merges with rue Notre-Dame.
** Length: 8.5 km (5.3 miles)
** Expansion: A planned upgrade to rue Notre-Dame will make an urban boulevard stretch from the bridge to the A-25. A future project includes upgrading rue Souligny into the A-720 at A-25, taking the load off Notre-Dame at and across the A-25.
** History: It was originally envisioned that Autoroute 20 would extend from the Turcot Interchange, along the route of A-720, to the Lafontaine Tunnel but those plans were cancelled years ago. They have been resurrected recently by the Quebec provincial government despite the opposition of the Montreal city council, which favors conversion of the Notre-Dame street into an urban waterfront boulevard instead.

Autoroute 730 (future)

* Name: "Autoroute 730 (future)"
** Description: Currently signed as part of Autoroute 30, Autoroute 730 will stretch from the existing Autoroute 30 in Saint-Constant north to Route 132 in Sainte-Catherine.
** Length:
** History: A-730 will be signed in 2010 upon the completion of A-30.

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* Name: "Autoroute Robert-Bourassa" since 2007 (formerly named "Autoroute du Vallon")
** Description: From boul. Laurier (Quebec City) to the A-40 interchange in Quebec City.
** Length: 7.4 km (4.6 miles)
** History:

(unsigned)

* Name: "Autoroute Monsigneur-Langlois (unofficial)"
** Description: This short route links Autoroute 20 with Salaberry-de-Valleyfield across the St. Lawrence River. It is only signed as Route 201 (the A-920 designation is only on paper).
** Length: 1.5 km (0.9 mile)

Autoroute 930 (future)

* Name: "Autoroute 930 (future)"
** Description: Currently signed as part of Autoroute 30, Autoroute 930 will stretch from the existing Autoroute 30 in west to Route 132 in Candiac. It will use the existing interchange with Autoroute 15.
** Length:
** History: A-930 will be signed in 2010 upon the completion of A-30.

=

* Name: "Autoroute 955" (or, unofficially, "Autoroute de Saint-Albert")
** Description: From Saint-Albert to the A-20 interchange in Sainte-Eulalie
** Length: 14.7 km (9.1 miles)
** History: This short section of Autoroute was destined to become part of a much longer section of freeway, as the A-55 was supposed to follow this route south towards Warwick and Richmond, as opposed to its current alignment through Drummondville; however, this was never realised, but the short route still remains.

(unsigned)

* Name: "Autoroute Laurentienne" (southern section)
** Description: This short route links downtown Quebec City with the A-40/A-73 interchange. It is only signed as Route 175 (the A-973 designation is only on paper).
** Length: 3.6 km (2.1 miles)
** History: Completed in 1963

ee also

* Freeway (Canada)
* Highway
* List of Quebec provincial highways
* Toll road
* Transports Québec
* 100-Series Highways (Nova Scotia) (not to be confused with Quebec's highway system that sets itself apart from the Autoroutes)
* 400-Series Highways (Ontario)

References

*
* [http://www.autoroute30.qc.ca/documents/6/MTQ-LettreVol4no5_En_Web.pdf Information on new A-730 and A-930 from MTQ's A-30 newsletter]

External links

* [http://www1.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.asp Ministère des Transports du Québec (provincial transport ministry)]
* [http://www.qcexwys.qc.tc/ Quebec Autoroutes]
* [http://www.exitlists.com Exitlists: An un-official guide to the Province of Quebec Expressway system]
* [http://www.montrealroads.com Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com]
* [http://www.geocities.com/autoroute73/ Unofficial Autoroute 73 website]