Boulevard Alexandre-Taché (Gatineau)

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Boulevard Alexandre-Taché is a road located in the city of Gatineau, Quebec. It starts at the western limits of the Hull sector with Aylmer just west of Boulevard Saint-Raymond south of the Manoir des Trembles community. It travels through the neighbourhoods of Val-Tetrault and St-Jean Bosco while passing in the southern edge of Gatineau Park, where its parkway begins. Being the last west-east route before the Ottawa River, it ends at the entrance of the Chaudière Bridge in front of les Terrasses de la Chaudière office complex where it becomes Rue Laurier.

This is a very important route for commuters during rush hours and frequently there is congestion, especially on the one-lane westbound section between the University and Boulevard Saint-Joseph during the afternoon and near the Chaudière Bridge in the morning as only one lane is available for regular vehicles eastbound.

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[edit] Features

This road is home to the Université du Québec en Outaouais's Alexandre-Taché Campus and would be expanded over the next years when new buildings will be built. The route is also home of the region's music conservatory.

At the intersection of the Chaudière Bridge is the old E.B Eddy plant, an historic landmark for the region's wood pulp and lumber industries during the past century and a half. Domtar, the main industry company after acquiring E.B Eddy is currently occupying several mills across the intersection and right along the bridge corridor.

[edit] Transit priorities

Most of the route contains bus lanes which are used by the STO buses during rush hour and a new park and ride was recently built. The section between Boulevard Saint-Joseph and Rue Montcalm contains a feature similar to the Champlain Bridge, where the center lane (which is usually for westbound traffic) is available for buses and taxicabs heading eastbound during the morning commute. Illuminated signs direct the traffic on that particular lane. Formerly, traffic cones were used to prevent eastbound traffic from using that lane in the morning. Initially, buses would have used a transit corridor called Via-Bus. However, residents opposed the project and was subsequently postponed indefinitely. There are also future plans to add an O-Train link that would serve the boulevard near the University but the city of Gatineau had opposed the project.

[edit] Former Route 148

It was formerly known as Quebec route 148, before the construction of an Aylmer By-Pass called Boulevard de l'Outaouais.

[edit] Neighourhoods

  • Manoir des Trembles
  • Val-Tetrault
  • St-Jean Bosco/Wrightville
  • Ile de Hull/Vieux-Hull
  • Downtown