Quebec Autoroute 15

Autoroute 15
Autoroute Décarie Autoroute des Laurentides
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length:	164.0 km[1][2] (101.9 mi)
Existed:	1958 [2][3] – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-87 / US 9 in Champlain, NY
	A-30 / A-930 in Candiac A-10 / A-20 in Brossard A-10 in Montréal A-20 / A-720 in Montréal A-40 (TCH) in Montréal A-440 in Laval A-640 in Boisbriand A-50 in Mirabel
North end:	Route 117 (TCH) in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Location
Major cities:	La Prairie, Brossard, Montreal, Laval, Boisbriand, Blainville, Mirabel, Saint-Jérôme
Highway system
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) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autoroute 40) is a highway in western Quebec, Canada. It was, until the extension of Autoroute 25 was opened in 2011, the only constructed north-south autoroute to go out of Montreal on both sides. 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 or 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 at the Champlain-St. Bernard de Lacolle Border Crossing. 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 was completed to Autoroute 20 in 2012 providing a quicker access to the south shore of Montreal, to southern communities located alongside Autoroute 15 and to the Canada–US 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 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 that 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 McGill University Health Centre Glen Campus superhospital; and from Autoroute 40 north into Ville Saint-Laurent past Du College Station and Côte-Vertu Station/Norgate shopping centre.

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-Jérôme was opened in 1958 as a toll road, although the tolls were removed in 1985. 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

Exit numbering resets at the two interchanges with Autoroute 40 in Montréal.

Region	Location	km	mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Continues as I-87 south (Adirondack Northway) / US 9 south – Albany, New York
Montérégie	Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	0.00	0.00	Canada–United States border Champlain–St. Bernard de Lacolle Border Crossing
				1	Montée Glass / Montée Guay	Also signed as a u-turn
				6	Route 202 – Hemmingford, Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Lacolle
				11	Montée Henrysburg
				13	Montée Murray	Southbound exit only
	Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington– Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur			21	Route 219 / Route 221 – Napierville, Sherrington	Also serves Route 217
	Saint-Édouard			29	Saint-Édouard, Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur	Via Montée du Moulin
	Saint-Mathieu			38	Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Philippe	Via Montée Monette
	Candiac			40	A-30 west (Autoroute de l'Acier) – Pont Honoré-Mercier, Vaudreuil-Dorion	Exit 55 on A-30; opened December 2010
				42	A-30 east / Route 132 west (via A-930) – Sorel-Tracy, Québec, Saint-Constant, Sainte-Catherine	Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 132; shared ramp with exit 40 northbound
				44	Boulevard Montcalm – Candiac
				45	Route 134 east (Boulevard Taschereau) – La Prairie	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; south end of Route 134
	La Prairie			46	Boulevard Salaberry – La Prairie
				47	Rue Saint-Henri – La Prairie	Northbound exit and entrance
				49	Rue du Quai	Southbound exit and entrance; to Parc de la Marina
	Brossard			50	Boulevard Matte
				51	Boulevard Rivard	Southbound exit is via exit 50
					Rue Riviera	Southbound exit and entrance
				52	Boulevard Rome
				53	A-10 east (Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est) to A-30 / I-89 – Sherbrooke, Vermont A-20 east (Autoroute René-Lévesque) / Route 132 east – Longueuil, Varennes	A-15 branches west; northern terminus of concurrency with Route 132; southern terminus of concurrency with A-10 and A-20; exit 6 on A-10
St. Lawrence River				Pont Champlain
Montreal	Montreal			57	Île de Sœurs	Northbound exit and entrance
				57N	Chemin de la Pointe-Nord Road	Southbound exit and entrance
				57S	Boulevard de l'Île des Soeurs	Southbound exit and entrance
				58	A-10 west (Autoroute Bonaventure) – Centre-Ville	Northern terminus of concurrency with A-10; signed as exit 57O (west) southbound
				60	A-10 west (Autoroute Bonaventure) / Rue Wellington – Centre-Ville, Verdun	Northbound access to A-10 is via exit 58; exit 4 on A-10
				61	Rue Saint Patrick / Avenue Atwater
				62	Boulevard de La Vérendrye / Avenue de l'Église
				63	A-20 west (Autoroute du Souvenir) / A-720 east (Autoroute Ville-Marie) – Centre-Ville, Aéroport P.-E.-Trudeau, Toronto	Turcot Interchange Northern terminus of concurrency with A-20; signed as exits 63E (east) and 63O (west) southbound; A-20 exit 68; A-720 exit 1
				Southern terminus of Autoroute Décarie
				64	Rue Sherbrooke (Route 138) / Rue Saint-Jacques
				66	Chemin Côte-Saint-Luc / Chemin Queen-Mary / Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
				69	Rue Jean-Talon / Rue de la Savane / Avenue Van Horne / Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
				70 66[lower-roman 1]	A-40 (TCH) west (Autoroute Félix-Leclerc) to A-520 – Aéroport P.-E.-Trudeau, Gatineau, Ottawa	Décarie Interchange A-15 branches east; southern terminus of concurrency with of A-40
					Boulevard Marcel-Laurin (Route 117 north) / Boulevard Décarie	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
				Northern terminus of Autoroute Décarie
				68[lower-roman 1]	Rue Stinson / Chemin Rockland / Boulevard de L'Acadie	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				70[lower-roman 1] 1	A-40 (TCH) east (Autoroute Métropolitaine) to Route 335 (Rue Saint-Denis) / Boulevard Saint-Laurent – Québec	A-15 branches north; northern terminus of concurrency with A-40
					Boulevard Marcel-Laurin (Route 117 north) / Chemin Rockland / Boulevard de L'Acadie	Southbound exit
				Southern terminus of Trans-Canada Highway designation and Autoroute des Laurentides
				2	Boulevard de la Côte-Vertu – Saint-Laurent	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
					Rue Sauvé / Boulevard Henri-Bourassa / Boulevard de L'Acadie	Northbound exit and entrance
				3	Boulevard Henri-Bourassa	Northbound exit is via exit 3
				4	Rue de Salaberry	Signed as exits 4E (east) and 4O (west) southbound; no southbound entrance
Rivière des Prairies				Pont Médéric-Martin
Laval				7	Boulevard Cartier / Boulevard de la Concorde / Boulevard Notre-Dame	Northbound entrance and exit via Le Corbusier Boulevard
				8	Boulevard Saint-Martin	Southbound exit is via exit 10
				10	A-440 (Autoroute Laval) / Boulevard le Carrefour	Exit 22 on A-440
				14	Route 117 (Boulevard Curé Labelle) / Boulevard Dagenais west	Signed as exits 14N (north) and 14S (south) southbound
				16	Boulevard Sainte-Rose / Avenue de la Renaissance
Rivière des Mille Îles				Gedeon Ouimet Bridge
Laurentides	Boisbriand			19	Route 344 – Boisbriand, Rosemère
	Boisbriand– Sainte-Thérèse			20	A-640 to A-13 – Repentigny, Québec, Boisbriand, Saint-Eustache, Sainte-Thérèse, Aéroport P.-E.-Trudeau	Signed as exits 20E (east) and 20O (west); exit 20 on A-640
				23	Rue Saint-Charles – Saint-Augustin Centre-Ville Sainte-Thérèse
	Blainville			25	Boulevard de la Seigneurie – Blainville
	Mirabel–Blainville			28	Boulevard Michèle-Bohec / Chemin Notre-Dame – Mirabel, Blainville
	Mirabel			31	Saint-Janvier, Sainte-Monique	Via Rue Charles
				35	A-50 to Route 117 (Boulevard Mirabel) – Gatineau, Lachute, Aéroport Mirabel, Saint-Jerome, Saint-Janvier	Exit 282 on A-50
				39	Route 158 (Route Sir-Willfrid-Laurier) – Saint-Canut, Sainte-Sophie
	Saint-Jérôme			41	Boulevard du Grand-Héron
				43	Rue De Martigny Ouest – Centre-Ville Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Colomban, Mille-Isles	Signed as exits 43E (east) and 43O (west)
				45	Route 117 / Route 333 / Boulevard de La Salette – Prévost, Saint-Hippolyte	No direct southbound access to Routes 117 and 333
				51	Aire de Service La Porte du Nord (service centre)
	Prévost			55	Prévost	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs			57	Route 117 – Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs	No southbound exit
				58	Chemin Avila – Piedmont
	Saint-Sauveur			60	Route 364 – Saint-Sauveur, Morin-Heights, Piedmont, Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard
	Sainte-Adèle			64	Chemin du Mont-Gabriel
				67	Route 117 – Centre-Ville Sainte-Adèle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				69	Route 370 (Chemin Pierre-Péladeau) – Sainte-Adèle, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, Estérel
				72	Chemin du Mont-Sauvage / Montée à Séraphin – Sainte-Adèle	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Val-Morin			76	Route 117 – Val-Morin, Val-David	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Val-David			80	Val-David, 7e Rang	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts			83	Route 329 south / Montée Alouette – Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				86	Route 117 – Centre-Ville Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
				88	Rue Demontigny	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				89	Route 117 south (Boulevard Morin) / Route 329 – Saint-Donat, Lanaudière	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				–	Route 117 (TCH) north (Route Transcanadienne)	Trans-Canada Highway follows Route 117 north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

Disasters

On June 18, 2000, the southern portion of the Boulevard du Souvenir overpass in Laval, which crosses Quebec Autoroute 15, 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 contractor was faulted for shoddy work.

The expressway has also seen flooding. 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.^[5] One 80-year-old man on the Expressway drowned and another one was killed by electrical wires. On July 5, 2005, another torrential downpour flooded portions of the Expressway after several manhole covers blew open from the storm sewers below them being overloaded.^[6]

See also

• Decarie Boulevard
• Gibeau Orange Julep

Notes

References

External links

Route map: Google

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

Wikinews has related news: Highway overpass collapses near Montreal

Preceded by Route 117

Trans-Canada Highway Autoroute 15

Succeeded by Autoroute 40