Quebec Autoroute 73

Autoroute 73 shield

Autoroute 73
Autoroute Robert-Cliche
Autoroute Laurentienne
Autoroute Henri-IV
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length: 116.0 km[1][2] (72.1 mi)
Existed: 1963[2] – present
Major junctions
South end: Saint-Georges, Quebec
 

A-20/TCH, Route 132 in Lévis (Saint-Nicolas)
Route 138, A-40, A-440, A-540 in Quebec City (Sainte-Foy)
A-573 in L'Ancienne-Lorette

A-740, Route 175 in Quebec City (Charlesbourg)
North end: Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec
Location
Major cities: Lévis, Quebec City, Saint-Georges, Sainte-Marie
Highway system

Quebec provincial highways

← A-70A-85 →

Autoroute 73 (or A-73, also called Autoroute Robert-Cliche south of Quebec City, Autoroute Henri-IV from the Pierre-Laporte Bridge to the Autoroute Felix-Leclerc interchange and Autoroute Laurentienne to the north) is an important Autoroute in east-central Quebec, Canada. A-73 provides an important freeway connection to areas to the north and south of Quebec City, starting in the Beauce region and ending in the Laurentian Mountains north of Quebec City. Highway upgrades to Route 175 from 2007 to 2013 effectively take it farther north, into the Saguenay region. Including concurrencies, A-73 is 116 km (72.1 mi) long.

Autoroute 73 northbound over Pierre Laporte Bridge
left Autoroute 73

A-73 begins at Route du Golf in Beauceville as a 4-lane freeway. It then narrows to a two-lane freeway. It widens again to a 4-lane freeway after 28 km (17.4 mi) in Sainte-Marie. Just after crossing A-20 in Lévis, A-73 crosses the Pierre Laporte Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in Canada) into Quebec City. Since November 15, 2007, A-73 continues further south into Beauceville (Exit 61) and further extensions to Saint-Georges are under construction.[3]

History

In September 2008, the Canadian Government announced that under its Building Canada infrastructure plan, it will allocate priority funding through a contribution totalling a maximum of $75 million for improvements to Autoroute Robert-Cliche which includes widening the remaining two-lane freeway to 4 lanes.[4]

For 10 km (6.2 mi) through Quebec City, A-73 overlaps A-40, partially using A-73 exit numbers and partially using A-40 numbers. The routes split at a cloverleaf interchange, where A-73 joins the Autoroute Laurentienne (which in itself continues into downtown Quebec City, signed as Autoroute 973) and Route 175.

Heading north, A-73 continues as a multilane freeway north to Stoneham where it transitions to Route 175; it is a 4-lane freeway or at-grade expressway all the way north to Saguenay.[5] It was unclear for several years whether the long northern extension would be signed as A-73 or Route 175. It was completed to Stoneham by 2007 and Saguenay by 2011, except for a 3 km section just north of Stoneham that was brought to freeway standards by 2013. Some of the sections just south of Saguenay were already being twinned as of early 2010. Since the A-73 designation has not been extended to Saguenay, Quebec Autoroute 70 remains the only autoroute in Quebec that does not directly connect to any other.

Due to the alignment change and the fact that both sections continue for a short distance as Autoroutes, some have suggested that the Laurentienne section of A-73 (along with A-973) be given a new designation, the most common (and most logical due to the fact it would be replacing Route 175) suggestion is Autoroute 75. It is unlikely that it will take place however.

The designation Autoroute Robert-Cliche is named after a Quebec provincial New Democratic Party leader of the early 1960s. Robert Cliche also led an inquiry into Quebec trade union rights in 1974. A foundation in his name is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Beauce region through which A-73 travels.

The Autoroute Laurentienne name is derived from the Laurentian Mountains region north of Quebec City, through which the northern extension of A-73 is planned.

Interchanges from South to North

Municipality No. Intersecting Roads Notes
Future southern extension
Saint-Georges 43* 127e Rue ( Route 204) opened Nov. 2013
48* 74e Rue opened Nov. 2013
Notre-Dame-des-Pins 53* 20e Rue (future interchange)
Autoroute Robert-Cliche, south of Quebec City
Beauceville 61 Route du Golf (main A-73 terminus)
Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce 72 Route Lac-Vachon ( Route 276)
Saints-Anges - Vallée-Jonction Boundary 81 Route Érables ( Route 112)
Sainte-Marie 91 Route Carter
95 Route Cameron
Scott 101 Route Président-Kennedy ( Route 173)
Saint-Isidore 108 Route Vieux-Moulin
Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon 115 Rue du Pont ( Route 218)
Lévis 123 Avenue St-Augustin ( Route 175)
124 Chemin St-Gregoire
128 Route Beaulieu
130 Avenue Joseph-Hudon
131 Autoroute 20/Trans-Canada Highway
Pierre Laporte Bridge
Quebec City 132 Boulevard Champlain, Avenue des Hôtels (unsigned Route 136)
133 Chemin St-Louis (northbound only)
134 Autoroute 540 (Autoroute Duplessis) / Boulevard Laurier ( Route 175)
136 Boulevard Hochelaga
137 Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois
138 Chemin Ste-Foy (northbound) / (southbound)
139 Autoroute 40 West / Ville de Québec Autoroute 440 (Autoroute Charest)
140 Rue John-Molson
141 Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel ( Route 138)
142 Autoroute 573 (Autoroute Henri-IV)
Autoroute Henri-IV, concurrency with Autoroute 40
Quebec City 308 (143*) Boulevard de l'Ormiere ( Route 371)
310 (145*) Boulevard St-Jacques
311 (146*) Autoroute 740 (Autoroute du Vallon)
312 (147*) Boulevard Pierre-Bertrand ( Route 358)
Autoroute Laurentienne, north of Quebec City
Quebec City 148 Autoroute 40 East / Autoroute 973 south / Route 175
149 Boulevard de l'Atrium / Boulevard Lebourgneuf
150 Boulevard Louis-XIV ( Route 369)
151 Boulevard Jean-Talon
154 Rue de la Faune, Wendake
155 Rue Georges-Muir
156 Rue Bernier (northbound only)
157 Boulevard du Lac, Lac-Beauport
158 Rue Jacques-Bédard (northbound only)
159 Boulevard Talbot
Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury 167 Stoneham, Tewkesbury, Lac-Delage Route 371
169 Chemin des Frères-Wright, Chemin Crawford
174 Chemin Saint-Edmond, Saint-Adolphe
182 Chemin du Parc National continues north as R-175

References

  1. ↑ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  3. ↑ Chaudiere
  4. ↑ Building Canada
  5. ↑ Mandats

External links

Route map: Bing

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quebec Autoroute 73.