Quebec Autoroute 55

Autoroute 55
Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier Autoroute Transquébécoise Maintained by Transports Québec
Length:	247 km[1][2] (153.5 mi)
Formed:	1964[2]
Direction:	North/South
From:	Stanstead, Quebec
Major junctions:	in Magog & in Sherbrooke in Drummondville in Sainte-Eulalie & in Bécancour & in Trois-Rivières
To:	Shawinigan
Major cities:	Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan
System:	City/Rural highway
Quebec provincial highways < A-50 A-70 >

Autoroute 55 (also called Autoroute Transquébécoise (North of the Autoroute 20) and Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier (South part) is an important north-south Autoroute and the only one running in that direction in central Quebec. It is the longest north-south Autoroute, beginning the Canada-United States border at Stanstead to Shawinigan where it downgrades to Route 155. The total length of A-55 is currently 247 km (153.5 mi) long, including concurrencies with Autoroutes 10, 20 and 40.

The main purpose of this Autoroute is to connect the mid-sized communities of Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan and the smaller communities in between. The most notable feature on A-55 is the Laviolette Bridge between Trois-Rivières and Bécancour, which is the longest bridge in Quebec and one of the longest in Canada.

A-55 had a short "gap" between Bécancour and Drummondville which was under construction and it was completed in October 2006. The gap results from Transports Quebec's original intention of bringing A-55 southeast towards Victoriaville along what is now Autoroute 955 before shifting southwest to rejoin existing A-55 near Richmond. However, the plans changed in the 1970s and the present routing was chosen. The southern section was originally supposed to be Autoroute 51 which was intended to continue to Pierreville. A-55 was signed along Route 155 (which is not an Autoroute-standard highway) until the new route was completed.

All of the southern portion of A-55 became a full four-lane freeway by the end of October 2006. The gap being filled in the northern portion will initially be a two-lane freeway for about 20 km (12.4 mi), but it is intended to ultimately be four lanes.

While some people hope that A-55 will be extended further north towards La Tuque and Roberval, there are currently no plans to extend the route.

The designation Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier is in honour of Quebec businessman Joseph-Armand Bombardier, who lived in Valcourt, near where A-55 passes and who invented the snowmobile there. His company, Bombardier Inc., started by building snowmobiles and eventually grew into a major international manufacturer of transit vehicles and aircraft.

The designation Autoroute Transquébécoise means "Trans-Quebec", although this section north of A-20 is likely to remain at its comparatively short length to Shawinigan for the foreseeable future.

Exit list

RCM or ET	Location	No.	Destinations	Notes
Continues into Vermont as Interstate 91
Memphrémagog	Stanstead		Route 247	At-grade intersection
		2	Route 143 – Stanstead
			Chemin Curtis	At-grade intersection
	Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley	21	Route 141 – Ayer's Cliff, Coaticook
		29	Route 108 – Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, North Hatley, Lennoxville
	Magog	32	Rue-Saint-Patrice, Boulevard Industriel
		33	Route 112 – Magog, Omerville
		34/121	A-10 – Montréal	Signed as exits 34-E (East) and 34-O (West) northbound / Signed as 121 southbound / South end of A-10 overlap
		123	Route 112 to Route 249 – Magog, Omerville, Saint-Denis-de-Brompton
Sherbrooke	Sherbrooke		Route 112 west to A-10 west / A-55 south – Magog, Montréal	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		128	Route 112 (Boulevard Bourque) – Deauville, Rock Forest, Sherbrooke
		133	Rock Forest, Saint-Élie-d'Orford
		137	Route 220 (Boulevard Industriel) – Saint-Élie-d'Orford
		140	A-410 – Sherbrooke
		141	Chemin Saint-Joseph
		143	A-610 east / Route 112 east – Fleurimont, East Angus, Lac-Mégantic	North end of A-10 overlap
		58	Route 222 – Saint-Denis-de-Brompton, Valcourt
		60	Bromptonville
Le Val-Saint-François	Windsor	71	Route 249 – Windsor, Saint-Grégoire-de-Greenlay, Saint-François-Xavier	Signed as exits 71N (north) and 71S (south) northbound
	Melbourne	85	Route 243 – Racine, Valcourt, Melbourne
		88	Route 116 – Acton Vale, Richmond, Asbestos
	Ulverton	98	Chemin Mooney
Drummond	L'Avenir	103	Lefebvre, L'Avenir, Ulverton, Durham-Sud
	Drummondville	111	Route Caya
		116	Route 139 – Wickham, Acton Vale, Granby, Saint-Nicéphore
		122	Boulevard Jean-de-Brébeuf - Drummondville
		125	Route 122 – Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Drummondville
		128	A-20 west – Montréal	South end of A-20 overlap
See Autoroute 20
Nicolet-Yamaska	Sainte-Eulalie	145	A-20 west / A-955 south / Route 161 – Québec, Saint-Valère	Signed as exits 145-O (west) and 145-E (east) southbound / North end of A-20 overlap
	Saint-Wenceslas	153	9e Rang - Saint-Léonard-d'Aston, Saint-Wenceslas
	Saint-Célestin (Municipality)		Route 226 – Saint-Célestin (Village)	at-grade intersection
Bécancour	Bécancour		Rang Prince	at-grade intersection
			Chemin Forest - Précieux-Sang, Quebec	at-grade intersection
			Chemin Thibodeau	at-grade intersection
			Route 132 – Saint-Grégoire, Nicolet, Wôlinak	at-grade intersection
		176	A-30 / Route 132 – Bécancour, Sainte-Angèle
Laviolette Bridge over the St. Lawrence River
Trois-Rivières	Trois-Rivières	181	Route 138 (Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Boulevard Gene-H.-Kruger)
		182	A-40 east – Trois-Rivières, Québec	South end of A-40 overlap
		183	Boulevard Jean-XXIII
		186	A-40 west / Boulevard des Forges – Montréal	* North end of A-40 overlap * Access to Boulevard des Forges via Boulevard des Chenaux and Boulevard du Rochon, approximately a 3 kilometre drive from A-55
		191	Boulevard Industriel, Boulevard Saint-Michel
		196	Boulevard des Forges - Saint-Thomas-de-Caxton
Maskinongé	Saint-Étienne-des-Grès
		202	Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Saint-Barnabé
		206	Saint-Boniface
	Saint-Boniface	211	Route 153 – Saint-Boniface, Shawinigan
Shawinigan	Shawinigan	216	Rue Burrill
		217	Route 351 (Rue Garnier) – Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc
		220	Boulevard Hubert-Biermans, Boulevard Vallée-du-Parc
		223	5e avenue, 25e rue
		226	8e rue, 4e rue - Grand-Mère, Saint-Jean des Piles
Continues as Route 155

Gallery

Autoroute 55 southbound

Southbound view, showing super-2 undivided carriageway

Multiplex of Autoroutes 20 and 55

Southbound from Trois-Rivières at exit 181, approaching the Laviolette Bridge

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. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quebec Autoroute 55

• A-55 at Exitlists.com
• A-55 at Quebec Autoroutes
• Transports Quebec Map