Quebec Autoroute 15

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Autoroute 15
Decarie Expressway Laurentian Autoroute
Length:	164 kilometres (102 miles)
Formed:	1958
Direction:	North/South
From:	Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec
To:	Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Major cities:	Longueuil, Montreal, Laval, Mirabel, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Sauveur

Autoroute 15 (also called the Decarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) in Montreal and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Highway 40) is a highway in western Quebec, Canada. It is currently the only constructed north-south Autoroute to go out of Montreal on both sides (until a new bridge is built to connect both ends of A-25), running from the United States border at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle (where it continues as Interstate 87) to Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts with an eventual continuation beyond Mont-Tremblant. The total length of A-15 is currently 164 km (102 miles), including a short multiplex (4 kilometers/2.5 miles) with Autoroute 40 (Boulevard/Autoroute Métropolitan) that connects the two main sections.

The southern section of A-15 connects the south shore suburbs of Montreal and is also the primary trade corridor between New York and Montreal. This was the former Quebec 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 and the A-20 splits off shortly after at a stack interchange, leaving the A-15 to continue northward as Autoroute Décarie until the A-40 interchange.

After its multiplex 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 and the A-50 in Mirabel. It was opened in the 1960s as a toll road, although the tolls were later removed. 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 was a different route. The northern route is also part of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The route is also connected to Quebec Autoroute 30 in Candiac which will be completed to Quebec Autoroute 20 in 2009 providing a quicker access to the south shore of Montreal, to southern communities located alongside Highway 15 and to the US-Canadian border in Lacolle. It will also give a quicker access from there to areas west of Montreal and also Ottawa and Gatineau.

Contents 1 Interchanges from south to north on southern section 2 Interchanges shared with Metropolitain Expressway 3 Interchanges from south to north on northern section 4 2000 Overpass Collapse 5 1987 flash flood event 6 External links

[edit] Interchanges from south to north on southern section

Municipality	Exit Number	Intersecting Roads
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	1	Montée Glass / Quebec route 217
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	6	Quebec route 202
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	11	Montée Henrysburg
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle	13	Chemin Murray / Chemin Noël (southbound only)
Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington - Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur Boundary	21	Quebec route 219 / Quebec route 221
Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur - Saint-Édouard Boundary	29	Montée St-Jacques / Montée du Moulin
Saint-Mathieu	38	Montée Monette
Candiac	42	Autoroute 30 / Quebec Route 132 West
Candiac	44	Boulevard Montcalm
Candiac	45	Boulevard Taschereau ( Quebec route 134) (northbound only)
La Prairie	46	Rue Salaberry
La Prairie	47	Rue St-Henri (Quebec route 104) (northbound only)
La Prairie	48*	Parc de la Marina (southbound only)
Brossard	50	Boulevard Matte
Brossard	51	Boulevard Rivard (northbound) / Boulevard St-Laurent (southbound)
Brossard	52	Boulevard Rome (northbound only)
Brossard	53	Autoroute 10 East (Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est) / Autoroute 20 North / Route 132 East
Saint Lawrence Seaway / Saint Lawrence River / Champlain Bridge (Montreal)
Montreal	57	Boulevard de l'Île-des-Soeurs
Montreal	58	Highway 10 West (Bonaventure Expressway)
Montreal	60	Henri-Duhamel St.
Montreal	61	Atwater Ave.
Montreal	62	de de la Vérendrye Blvd.
Montreal	63	Highway 20 West / Ville-Marie Expressway
Montreal	64	Sherbrooke St. (Route 138)
Montreal	66	Côte-St-Luc Rd./ Queen Mary Rd.
Montreal	69	Jean-Talon St.
Montreal	70	Highway 40 West (Metropolitain Expressway) / Decarie Blvd. / Boulevard Marcel-Laurin (Quebec route 117)

• *Exit number not signed, based on kilometre post
• between marker 63 and marker 70, the autoroute is in a man-made canyon and is called Autoroute Décarie (Decarie Expressway)

[edit] Interchanges shared with Metropolitain Expressway

Municipality	Exit Number	Intersecting Roads
Montreal	66	Autoroute 15 South (Autoroute Décarie)
Montreal	67	Boulevard Décarie/Boulevard Marcel-Laurin (Quebec route 117) (westbound only)
Montreal	68	Service road access (eastbound only)
Montreal	70	Autoroute 15 North (Autoroute des Laurentides)

[edit] Interchanges from south to north on northern section

Laurentian Autoroute (Autoroute des Laurentides)

Municipality	Exit Number	Intersecting Roads
Montreal	1	Highway 40 East
Montreal	2	Sauvé St./ Côte-Vertu Blvd.
Montreal	3	Henri-Bourassa Blvd.
Montreal	4	de Salaberry St.
Rivière des Prairies / Médéric Martin Bridge
Laval	7	Boulevard Cartier / Boulevard de la Concorde / Boulevard Notre-Dame
Laval	8	Boulevard St-Martin (Quebec route 148)
Laval	10	Autoroute 440 (Laval freeway)
Laval	14	Boulevard Curé-Labelle (Quebec route 117)
Laval	16	Boulevard Ste-Rose
Rivière des Mille Îles
Boisbriand	19	Chemin de la Grande-Côte (Quebec route 344)
Boisbriand - Sainte-Thérèse Boundary	20	Autoroute 640
Boisbriand - Sainte-Thérèse Boundary	23	Chemin de la Côte-Nord / Rue Sicard
Mirabel - Blainville Boundary	25	Boulevard de la Seigneurie
Mirabel	31	Rue Charles
Mirabel	35	Highway 50
Mirabel	39	Route Sir-Wilfred-Laurier (Quebec route 158)
Saint-Jérôme	41	Rue Brière
Saint-Jérôme	43	Rue de Martigny
Saint-Jérôme	45	Boulevard de la Salette / Quebec route 117
Saint-Jérôme	51	La Porte du Nord rest area
Prévost	55	Rue Louie-Morin (northbound only)
Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs	57	Chemin de Ste-Anne-des-Lacs (northbound only)
Saint-Sauveur	60	Rue Robert / Chemin Jean-Adam ( Quebec route 364)
Sainte-Adèle	64	Chemin du Mont-Gabriel
Sainte-Adèle	67	Boulevard de Sainte-Adèle (Quebec route 117)
Sainte-Adèle	69	Chemin Pierre-Péladeau (Quebec route 370)
Sainte-Adèle	72	Chemin du Mont-Sauvage / Séraphin (northbound only)
Val-Morin	76	Boulevard Labelle (Quebec route 117) (northbound only)
Val-David	80	7e Rang (northbound only)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts	83	Avenue des Alouettes (northbound only)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts	86	Rue Principale (Quebec route 117)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts	88	Chemin du Château-Bleu (northbound only)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts	89	Quebec route 117 / Quebec route 329

• *Exit number not signed, based on kilometre post

[edit] 2000 Overpass Collapse

On June 18, 2000, the southern portion of the Boulevard du Souvenir overpass, which crosses the Autoroute, 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 highway was closed for several days while workers removed the fallen debris. The remains of the structure were later demolished as well for safety reasons according to then Quebec Transport Minister Guy Chevrette. A new overpass was built less than three years later. A similar incident occurred on September 30, 2006 on Quebec Autoroute 19 where five were killed.

The overpass was under extensive renovations at the time the incident occurred. The company in charged of the project was Beaver Ridge, a company that was under bankruptcy protection and was without a construction license for about 4 months. Dessau-Soprin was an engineering firm that was supervising the project operations. [1] [2] [3]

The city of Laval affirmed that there discoveries prior to the collapsed that there were problems with some of the beams of the overpass but haven't mentioned the exact nature of it. Beaver Ridge president Mario D'Errico told Le Devoir that the collapse was caused by a rupture of one of the beams which was later confirmed by Transports Quebec employee citing an instability of one of them which caused the collapse of every one on the south side. Generally, beams are fixed together in the form of an X.[4] [5]

Inspectors from the Commission de la sante et de la securite du Quebec (CSST) noticed some irregularities in the workplace several months before the incident.The CSST blamed Beaver Ridge for security flaws and had demanded changes in regards to the beam and formwork structures . In a report published in 2003, they had also discovered that there were communication problems at the site. [6] [7]

Public audiences started in late 2000 with Coroner Gilles Perron in charge of the case. After the inquest, Beaver Ridge was severely blamed for constructions flaws. In 2003, an engineer had mentioned that he a presented incomplete and inadequate plans for the project. No criminal charges were laid in the case.[8].

Soon after the Souvenir incident, a study by the Montreal Gazette along with Transports Quebec and the City of Montreal discovered that several overpasses of the Décarie Expressway were in poor condition [9] which required extensive repairs and renovations during the following years.

[edit] 1987 flash flood event

On July 14, 1987, a sudden torrential downpour caused by an HP supercell thundertstorm 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 was nearly 4 meters deep on the roadway. Over 300 vehicles were abandoned when they were submerged. 2 people were killed by the storm [10] including one on the Expressway.

On July 5, 2005, another torrential downpour flooded portions of the Expressway after several manhole covers blew over. [11]

[edit] External links

• A-15 at Exitlists.com
• A-15 at Quebec Autoroutes

Preceded by QC Route 117

Trans-Canada Highway QC Highway 15

Succeeded by QC Highway 40

v • d • e

Autoroutes of Quebec

Autoroutes 5 • 10 • 13 • 15 • 19 • 20 • 25 • 30 • 31 • 35 • 40 • 50 • 55 • 70 • 73 • 85

Spur Autoroutes 410 • 440 (Laval) • 440 (Quebec City) • 520 • 530 (Future) • 540 (Vaudreuil-Dorion) • 540 (Quebec City) • 573 • 610 • 640 • 720 • 740 • 920 • 955 • 973

Routes Partially Built to Autoroute Standards: 105 • 112 • 116 • 117 • 125 • 131 • 132 • 133 • 134 • 138 • 148 • 157 • 158 • 173 • 175 • 185 • 201

See Also: List of Quebec provincial highways • 400 Series Highways of Ontario • New Brunswick Expressways • Nova Scotia 100-Series Highways • Interstate Highways