Quebec Autoroute 15

Autoroute Décarie, Décarie Autoroute, Décarie Expressway, Quebec Route 9 and Decarie Boulevard redirect here.

Autoroute 15
Autoroute Décarie, Autoroute des Laurentides Maintained by Transports Québec
Length:	164 km[1][2] (101.9 mi)
Formed:	1958 [2][3]
South end:	I-87 and US 9 towards Champlain, NY
Major junctions:	A-30 in Candiac A-10 / A-20 / A-720 / A-40 in Montreal A-440 in Laval A-640 in Boisbriand A-50 in Mirabel
North end:	Route 117 / Route 329 / TCH in Sainte-Agathe
Major cities:	Candiac, La Prairie, Brossard, Montreal, Laval, Boisbriand, Blainville, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Quebec provincial highways < A-13 A-19 >

Autoroute 15 (also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) between the Turcot and Décarie Interchanges in Montreal and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autoroute 40) is a highway in western Quebec, Canada. It is currently the only constructed north-south autoroute to go out of Montreal on both sides (until a new bridge is built to connect both ends of A-25). A-15 begins at the end of Interstate 87 at the United States border at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts with an eventual continuation beyond Mont-Tremblant. The total length of A-15 is currently 164 km (101.9 mi), including a short concurrency (4 km/2.5 mi) with Autoroute 40 (Boulevard/Autoroute Métropolitan) that connects the two main sections. This is one of the few autoroutes in Quebec that does not have any spinoff highways.

Road description

Southern section

Autoroute 15 in Montreal, facing southwards at the Autoroute 20 junction (Exit 63)

The southern section of A-15 connects the south shore suburbs of Montreal and is also the primary trade corridor route between Montreal & New York City linking Quebec Autoroute 15 to Interstate 87 at the Canada-United States border. This was the former Route 9, and connected with US 9 on the western shore of Lake Champlain. In Brossard, it joins up with A-10 and A-20 across the Champlain Bridge into Montreal. The A-10 splits off almost immediately after crossing the bridge to head into downtown Montreal at the Bonaventure Expressway and the A-20 splits off shortly after at the Turcot Interchange (échangeur Turcot), leaving the A-15 to continue northward as Autoroute Décarie until the Décarie Interchange (échangeur Décarie) with the A-40 at the point where it turns from the Trans-Canada into the Metropolitan Expressway.

The route is also connected to Autoroute 30 in Candiac which will be completed to Autoroute 20 in 2009 providing a quicker access to the south shore of Montreal, to southern communities located alongside Autoroute 15 and to the US-Canadian border in Lacolle. It will also give a quicker access from there to areas west of Montreal and also Ottawa and Gatineau.

Autoroute Décarie

Autoroute Décarie, Décarie Autoroute, Décarie Expressway, Quebec Route 9 and Décarie Boulevard redirect here.

Autoroute 15 (Autoroute Décarie) in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, looking north.

The Autoroute Décarie is a sunken highway between the northbound and southbound lanes of Décarie Boulevard (hence the name); from boulevard Métropolitain at its northern end to Monkland Avenue and the Villa Maria Metro station at its southern end. 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. The decommissioning of the streetcar system in 1959 left the right-of-way as an obvious choice for a highway, and 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 makes a slight westerly jog below Côte-Saint-Luc Road and runs through a short tunnel, before emerging between Addington and Botrel Streets and running down to Sherbrooke Street and 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 former 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.

Decarie Boulevard itself continues from Monkland Avenue south to Saint Jacques Street and from Autoroute 40 north into Ville Saint-Laurent past Du College Station and Côte-Vertu Station/Norgate shopping centre.

See also

Boulevard Décarie

Northern section

After its concurrency with A-40, the northern section of A-15 is the main freeway route to the Laurentians until it downgrades to Route 117. It also links up to the northern suburbs of Montreal, as well as provides a connection to the A-440, A-640 and the A-50 in Mirabel. The first section from A-40 to Saint-Jérome was opened in 1958 as a toll road, although the tolls were later removed. This section was also the first to be designed as an autoroute in the province. It was named Autoroute Montréal-Laurentides during the 1960s. ^[4] .

Over the next years, it was extended north to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts as a new connection to touristic and skiing destinations in the Laurentides including in Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle, Mont-Gabriel and Estérel. In the future, it is possible that the A-15 may continue even farther north, past Mont-Tremblant, as Route 117 is already an at-grade expressway with a freeway bypass of Saint-Jovite completed, and the name Autoroute des Laurentides is also recognized on the freeway bypass (and exit numbers continue). This section is numbered separately from the southern section as if it were a different route. The northern route is also part of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Exit list

Location	No.	Destinations	Notes
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	0	I-87 south New York
	1	Montée Glass, Montée Guay
	6	Route 202 – Hemmingford, Lacolle
	11	Montée Henrysburg
	13	Montée Murray	Southbound exit only
Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington, Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur	21	Route 217 / Route 219 / Route 221 – Napierville, Sherrington
Saint-Édouard	29	Saint-Édouard, Saint-Jacques
Saint-Mathieu	38	Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Philippe
Candiac	42	A-30 west / Route 132 – Châteauguay, Sorel, Québec, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	South end of Route 132 overlap
	44	Boulevard Montcalm, Candiac
	45	Route 134 east (Boulevard Taschereau) – La Prairie	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
La Prairie	46	Boulevard Salaberry, La Prairie
	47	Rue Saint-Henri, La Prairie	Northbound exit and entrance
	-	Parc de la Marina	Southbound exit and entrance
Brossard	50	Boulevard Matte
	51	Boulevard Rivard	Southbound exit is via exit 50
	51	Rue Riviera	Southbound exit and entrance
	52	Boulevard Rome
		A-20 east / Route 132 east – Longueuil	North end of Route 132 overlap; south end of A-20 overlap
		Boulevard Marie-Victorin	Exits only
		A-10 east to A-30 / I-89 – Sherbrooke, Québec, Vermont	South end of A-10 overlap
	Champlain Bridge over the St. Lawrence River
Montreal
	57	Île de Sœurs
	58	A-10 west – Montreal	North end of A-10 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
	60	Wellington Street, A-10 west – Montreal, Verdun
	61	Rue Atwater, Saint Patrick Street
	62	Boulevard de La Vérendrye, Avenue de l'Église
	63	A-20 west / A-720 east (Autoroute Ville-Marie) – Montreal, Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Pont Mercier, Toronto	North end of A-20 overlap; signed as exits 63-E (east) and 63-O (west) southbound
	64	Route 138 (Rue Sherbrooke) / Rue Saint-Jacques
	66	Chemin Côte-Saint-Luc, Chemin Queen-Mary
	69	Rue Jean-Talon, Rue de la Savane, Avenue Van Horne
	70-O	A-40 west / TCH west to A-520 – Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Gatineau, Ottawa	South end of A-40/TCH overlap
	67	Route 117 north (Boulevard Marcel-Laurin) / Boulevard Décarie	southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	68	Rue Stinson, Chemin Rockland, Boulevard de L'Acadie	northbound exit and southbound entrance only
	1-E	A-40 east / TCH east / Boulevard de L'Acadie – Québec	North end of A-40/TCH overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	2	Chemin de la Côte-Vertu, Saint-Laurent	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	2	Boulevard de L'Acadie	Northbound exit and entrance
	3	Boulevard Henri-Bourassa	no northbound exit, southbound entrance and exit via Jules-Poitras Boulevard
	4	Rue de Salaberry	Signed as exits 4-E (east) and 4-O (west) southbound, no southbound entrance
	Médéric Martin Bridge over the Rivière des Prairies
Laval
	7	Boulevard de la Concorde, Boulevard Cartier, Boulevard Notre-Dame
	8	Route 148 (Boulevard Saint-Martin)	Southbound exit is via exit 10
	10	A-440 (Autoroute Laval) / Boulevard le Carrefour
	14	Route 117 (Boulevard Curé Labelle) / Boulevard Dagenais	Signed as exits 14-N (north) and 14-S (south) southbound
	16	Boulevard Sainte-Rose, Av. de la Renaissance
	Gédéon-Ouimet Bridge over the Rivière des Mille Îles
Boisbriand
	19	Route 344 – Boisbriand, Rosemère
Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse	20	A-640 to A-13 / Boulevard Desjardins – Repentigny, Québec, Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Saint-Eustache	Signed as exits 20-E (east) and 20-O (west)
	23	Rue Saint-Charles, Mirabel, Saint-Augustin
Mirabel, Blainville	25	Blainville
	28	Blainville, Mirabel	New exit opened in August 2009
Mirabel	31	Mirabel, Saint-Janvier, Sainte-Monique
	35	A-50 – Aéroport Mirabel, Lachute, Gatineau
	39	Route 158 – Mirabel, Saint-Antoine, Sainte-Sophie, Saint-Canut
Saint-Jérôme	41	Boulevard du Grand-Héron
	43	Saint-Jérôme, Bellefeuille, Saint-Colomban	Signed as exits 43-E (east) and 43-O (west)
	45	Route 117 / Montée Sainte-Thérèse – Prévost, Lafontaine, Saint-Hippolyte
	51	Aire de Service La Porte du Nord (rest area)
Prévost	55	Prévost	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs	57	Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	58	Chemin Avila, Piedmont
Saint-Sauveur	60	Route 364 – Saint-Sauveur, Morin-Heights, Piedmont, Saint-Adolphe
Sainte-Adèle	64	Chemin du Mont-Gabriel
	67	Route 117 – Sainte-Adèle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	69	Route 370 (Chemin Pierre-Péladeau) – Sainte-Adèle, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, Estérel
	72	Montée à Séraphin, Chemin du Mont-Sauvage, Sainte-Adèle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Val-Morin	76	Route 117 – Val-Morin, Val-David	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Val-David	80	7e Rang, Val-David	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts	83	To Route 329 south / Montée Alouette – Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	86	Route 117 – Val-David, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
	88	Rue Demontigny	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	89	Route 117 south (Boulevard Morin) / Route 329 – Saint-Donat, St-Adolphe-d'Howard Route 117 north (Route Transcanadienne) / TCH west

2000 overpass collapse

On June 18, 2000, the southern portion of the Boulevard du Souvenir overpass, which crosses the autoroute, collapsed into the roadway, killing one and injuring two when cars were crushed underneath the structure. Sixteen beams weighing about 70 tons each fell. The highway was closed for several days while workers removed the debris. The remains of the structure were later demolished as well for safety reasons according to then–Quebec Transport Minister Guy Chevrette. A new overpass was built less than three years later. A similar incident occurred on September 30, 2006, also in Laval, on Autoroute 19 where the collapse of the De la Concorde overpass killed five.

The overpass was under construction at the time the incident occurred. The company in charge of the project was Beaver Ridge, a company that was under bankruptcy protection and was without a construction license for about four months. Dessau-Soprin was an engineering firm that was supervising the project operations. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The city of Laval affirmed that, prior to the collapse, it discovered unspecified problems with some of the beams of the overpass. Beaver Ridge president Mario D'Errico told Le Devoir that the failure was caused by a rupture of one of the beams—which was later confirmed by a Transports Quebec employee—citing an instability of one of them which then consequently caused the collapse of every single beam on the south side. Generally, beams are fixed together in the form of an X^{[8] [9]}

Inspectors from the Commission de la Santé et de la Sécurite du Travail (CSST) noticed some irregularities in the workplace several months before the incident.The CSST blamed Beaver Ridge for security flaws and had demanded changes in regards to the beam and formwork structures. In a report published in 2003, they had also discovered that there were communication problems at the site. ^{[10] [11]}

Public inquests started in late 2000 with Coroner Gilles Perron in charge of the case. After the inquest, Beaver Ridge was severely blamed for constructions flaws. In 2003, an engineer had mentioned that he had presented incomplete and inadequate plans for the project. No criminal charges were laid in the case ^[12].

Soon after the Souvenir incident, a study by the Montreal Gazette along with Transports Quebec and the City of Montreal discovered that several overpasses of the Décarie Expressway were in poor condition ^[13] which required extensive repairs and renovations during the following years.

1987 flash flood

On July 14, 1987, a sudden torrential downpour caused by an HP supercell thunderstorm dumped over 100 millimetres (4 inches) of rain in just over one hour across the city. The Décarie Expressway, which is below-grade, was heavily flooded and became a river. At some locations, the water reached a maximum of 3.6 metres in depth on the roadway. Over 300 vehicles were abandoned when they were submerged. Two people were killed by the storm ^[14] including one on the Expressway.

On July 5, 2005, another torrential downpour flooded portions of the Expressway after several manhole covers blew over. ^[15]

See also

• Decarie Boulevard
• Gibeau Orange Julep

References

1. ^ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
2. ^ ^{a b} "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. http://www1.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/repertoire_autoroute/autoroute.asp. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
3. ^ 1958
4. ^ Autoroute Montréal-Laurentides
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ [3]
8. ^ [4]
9. ^ [5]
10. ^ [6]
11. ^ [7]
12. ^ [8]
13. ^ [9]
14. ^ [10]
15. ^ [11]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quebec Autoroute 15

• A-15 at Exitlists.com
• A-15 at Quebec Autoroutes
• Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Decarie Autoroute (A-15)
• Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Laurentian Autoroute (A-15)
• Transports Quebec Map (French)

Wikinews has related news: Highway overpass collapses near Montreal

Preceded by Route 117

Trans-Canada Highway Autoroute 15

Succeeded by Autoroute 40

v • d • e Portions of the Trans-Canada Highway British Columbia: Highway 1 • Highway 5 • Highway 16 | Alberta: Highway 1 • Highway 16 Saskatchewan: Highway 1 • Highway 16 | Manitoba: Highway 1 • Highway 16 • Highway 100 Ontario: Highway 17 • Highway 69 • Highway 400 • Highway 12 • Highway 7 • Highway 71 • Highway 11 • Highway 66 • Highway 417 Quebec: Autoroute 40 • Autoroute 25 • Autoroute 20 • Autoroute 85 • Route 185 • Route 117 • Autoroute 15 New Brunswick: Route 2 • Route 16 | Confederation Bridge | Prince Edward Island: Route 1 | Nova Scotia: Highway 104 • Highway 105 • Highway 106 Newfoundland: Route 1