Quebec Autoroute 73
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Autoroute Robert-Cliche Autoroute Laurentienne Autoroute Henri-IV | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Transports Québec | ||||
| Length: | 135.0 km[1][2] (83.9 mi) | |||
| Existed: | 1963[2] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: | Saint-Georges, Quebec | |||
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  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 | ||||
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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 135 km (83.9 mi) long.
A-73 begins at Route 204 in Saint-Georges as a 4-lane freeway. For a few decades it narrowed to a two-lane freeway in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce before widening again to a 4-lane freeway in Sainte-Marie. Along with the extension to Saint-Georges this section was twinned, and opened in 2016. Just after crossing A-20 in Lévis, A-73 crosses the Pierre Laporte Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in Canada) into Quebec City. From November 15, 2007, A-73 continued further south into Beauceville (Exit 61) and the extension to Saint-Georges was completed and opened in November 2015.[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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autoroute Robert-Cliche, south of Quebec City | |||
| Saint-Georges | 43 |  Route 204 (127e Rue) |
opened Nov. 2013 |
| 48 | 74e Rue | opened Nov. 2013 | |
| Notre-Dame-des-Pins | 53 | 20e Rue | opened Nov. 2015 |
| Beauceville | 61 | Route du Golf | |
| Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce | 72 |  Route 276 (Route Lac-Vachon) |
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| Saints-Anges - Vallée-Jonction Boundary | 81 |  Route 112 (Route Érables) |
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| Sainte-Marie | 91 | Route Carter | |
| 95 | Route Cameron | ||
| Scott | 101 |  Route 173 (Route Président-Kennedy) |
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| Saint-Isidore | 108 | Route Vieux-Moulin | |
| Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon | 115 |  Route 218 (Rue du Pont) |
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| Lévis | 123 | Route 175 (Avenue St-Augustin) |
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| 124 | Chemin St-Gregoire | ||
| 128 | Route Beaulieu | ||
| 130 | Avenue Joseph-Hudon | ||
| 131 |   A-20 (TCH) |
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| Pierre Laporte Bridge | |||
| Quebec City | 132 |  Route 136 (Boulevard Champlain, Avenue des Hôtels) |
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| 133 | Chemin St-Louis | (northbound only) | |
| 134 |   A-540 (Autoroute Duplessis) / Route 175 (Boulevard Laurier) – Jean Lesage International Airport |
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| 136 | Boulevard Hochelaga | ||
| 137 | Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois | ||
| 138 | Chemin Ste-Foy | (northbound) / (southbound) | |
| 139 |   A-40 west / A-440 (Autoroute Charest) – Ville de Québec |
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| 140 | Rue John-Molson | ||
| 141 |  Route 138 (Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel) |
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| 142 |  A-573 (Autoroute Henri-IV) |
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| Autoroute Henri-IV, concurrency with Autoroute 40 | |||
| Quebec City | 308 (143*) |  Route 371 (Boulevard de l'Ormiere) |
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| 310 (145*) | Boulevard St-Jacques | ||
| 311 (146*) | A-740 (Autoroute du Vallon) |
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| 312 (147*) |  Route 358 (Boulevard Pierre-Bertrand) |
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| Autoroute Laurentienne, north of Quebec City | |||
| Quebec City | 148 |  A-40 east / A-973 south / Route 175 |
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| 149 | Boulevard de l'Atrium / Boulevard Lebourgneuf | ||
| 150 |  Route 369 (Boulevard Louis-XIV) |
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| 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 | Route 371 – Stoneham, Tewkesbury, Lac-Delage |
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| 169 | Chemin des Frères-Wright, Chemin Crawford | ||
| 174 | Chemin Saint-Edmond, Saint-Adolphe | ||
| 182 | Chemin du Parc National | continues north as R-175 | |
- *Exit number not signed (or future interchange), based on kilometre post
- On the east-west portion of the A-40 concurrency, the first number is the posted A-40 exit number, followed by the unposted A-73 kilometre post in brackets.
References
- ↑ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
- 1 2 "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ↑ Chaudiere
- ↑ Building Canada
- ↑ Mandats
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quebec Autoroute 73. |
- A-73 at Quebec Autoroutes
- A-73 extension unofficial website
- Transports Quebec Map (French)
- Building Canada infrastructure plan for A-73