Quebec Autoroute 55
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Autoroute 55 (also called Autoroute Transquébécoise (North of the Autoroute 20) and Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier (South part)) is an important north-south Autoroute in central Quebec. It is the longest north-south Autoroute, running from the United States border at Stanstead (where it continues as Interstate 91) to Shawinigan where it downgrades to Route 155. The total length of A-55 is currently 247 km (153 miles), including multiplexes 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 has a short "gap" between Bécancour and Drummondville which is currently under construction and expected to be completed in 2005. 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 will be signed currently along Route 155 (which is not an Autoroute-standard highway) until the new route is complete.
Most of A-55 is now a full four-lane freeway (except for some isolated at-grade intersections), however most segments were constructed as two-lane freeways and recently widened in the early 2000s. The gap being filled will initially be a two-lane freeway, 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, whose company 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.
Interchanges from South to North
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| Stanstead | 1* | Boulevard Notre-Dame (Route 247) (currently an at-grade intersection) |
| Stanstead | 2 | Route 143 |
| Stanstead | 5* | Chemin Curtis (currently an at-grade intersection) |
| Ayer's Cliff - Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley Boundary | 21 | Rue Main (Route 141) |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley | 29 | Chemin de Magog (Route 108) |
| Magog | 32 | Boulevard Industriel (southbound) / Rue St-Patrice (northbound) |
| Magog | 33 | Boulevard Bourque (Route 112) |
| Magog | 34 | Autoroute 10 West |
| Magog - Sherbrooke Boundary | 123 (36*) | Boulevard Bourque (Route 112) West / Chemin Rang XI (Route 249) (A-10 multiplex begins) |
| Sherbrooke | 128 (42*) | Boulevard Bourque (Route 112) East / Chemin Légare |
| Sherbrooke | 133 (47*) | Chemin St-Roch |
| Sherbrooke | 137 (51*) | Chemin St-Élie (Route 220) |
| Sherbrooke | 140 (54*) | Autoroute 410 |
| Sherbrooke | 141 (55*) | Chemin St-Joseph |
| Sherbrooke | 143 (57*) | Autoroute 10 East (A-10 multiplex ends) |
| Sherbrooke | 58 | Chemin des Écossais (Route 222) |
| Sherbrooke | 60 | Rue Laval |
| Windsor | 71 | Rue Principale (Route 249) |
| Richmond | 85 | Route 243 |
| Richmond | 88 | Route 116 |
| L'Avenir | 103 | Route Ployant |
| Saint-Nicéphore | 111 | Route Caya |
| Saint-Nicéphore | 116 | Route 139 |
| Saint-Nicéphore - Drummondville Boundary | 122 | Boulevard Jean-de-Brébeuf |
| Drummondville | 125 | Rue St-Pierre (Route 122) |
| Drummondville | 128 | Autoroute 20 West |
| Sainte-Eulalie (Interchange open in 2006) | ? | Autoroute 20,autoroute 955 South |
| Saint-Wenceslas ( Interchange open in 2006 ) | N/A | 9e Rang |
| Saint-Célestin | N/A | Route 226 |
| Bécancour | 176 | Autoroute 30 / Boulevard Bécancour (Route 132) |
| Trois-Rivières | 181 | Rue Notre-Dame (Route 138) |
| Trois-Rivières | 182 | Autoroute 40 East |
| Trois-Rivières | 183 | Boulevard Jean-XXII |
| Trois-Rivières | 186 | Autoroute 40 West |
| Trois-Rivières | 191 | Boulevard St-Michel |
| Trois-Rivières - Saint-Étienne-des-Grès Boundary | 196 | Boulevard des Forges / Chemin Marcotte |
| Saint-Étienne-des-Grès | 202 | Rue des Dalles |
| Saint-Étienne-des-Grès | 206 | Avenue Omer-Bourassa / Avenue Ringuette |
| Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan | 211 | Boulevard Trudel (Route 153) |
| Shawinigan | 216 | Rue Burrill |
| Shawinigan | 217 | Rue Garnier (Route 351) |
| Shawinigan | 220 | Boulevard Biermans |
| Shawinigan | 223 | 6e Avenue |
| Shawinigan | 226 | 4e Rue |
- *Exit number not signed, based on kilometre post
- On multiplexed sections using another route's exit numbers, the posted exit number is shown first followed by the A-55 kilometre post in brackets.
Resources
| Autoroutes of Quebec |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal Autoroutes Autoroute 5 | Autoroute 10 | Autoroute 13 | Autoroute 15 | Autoroute 19 | Autoroute 20 | Autoroute 25 | Autoroute 30 | Autoroute 31 | Autoroute 35 | Autoroute 40 | Autoroute 50 | Autoroute 55 | Autoroute 70 | Autoroute 73 | Autoroute 85 (Future) | |||
| Spur Autoroutes Autoroute 410 | Autoroute 440 (Laval) | Autoroute 440 (Quebec City) | Autoroute 520 | Autoroute 530 (Future) | Autoroute 540 (Vaudreuil-Dorion) | Autoroute 540 (Quebec City) | Autoroute 573 | Autoroute 640 | Autoroute 720 | Autoroute 740 | Autoroute 955 | Autoroute 973 | |||
| Routes with parts built to Autoroute standards[[Citing sources citation needed]] Route 105 | Route 112 | Route 116 | Route 117 | Route 125 | Route 131 | Route 132 | Route 133 | Route 138 | Route 148 | Route 158 | Route 173 | Route 175 | Route 185 | Route 201 | |||
| Routes | Autoroutes | |||
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