Quebec Autoroute 30

Autoroute 30 (A-30), or the Autoroute de l'Acier (In English, Steel Freeway) is an Autoroute in Quebec, Canada. Construction of the A-30 dates back to the early days of autoroute construction in the 1960s. Originally called Highway 3, the A-30 was designed to replace Route 132 as the main artery linking the communities along the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River. The A-30 was originally intended to begin at Autoroute 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion and end at Lévis (in Chaudière-Appalaches). In the late 1970s an eight-year moratorium on new autoroute construction in favour of public transport by the Parti Québécois prevented implementation of that plan.

The original section of Autoroute 30 in 1968 linked Sorel-Tracy to Route 116, which was then called Highway 9. The A-30 was extended to an interchange with Autoroute 10 in Brossard by 1985 and to Autoroute 15 in Candiac by 1996.

Growing road congestion in and around Montreal led to the announcement in 2006 of a federal-provincial partnership to complete A-30 as southwestern bypass ring road. At that time, the section from Châteauguay to Vaudreuil-Dorion was to be tolled, however by 2009 it was decided to collect tolls only on the St. Lawrence bridge. A-30 was extended north of the St. Lawrence River (over a new crossing) to a realigned interchange with Autoroute 20 and Autoroute 540 in Vaudreuil-Dorion, afterward A-540 was annexed and renamed as an extension of A-30. As construction progressed, short sections of the original A-30 that are bypassed by the new route were converted to spur routes and assigned new route numbers; for instance the old alignment of A-30 south of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield was renamed Autoroute 530. Opened to traffic on December 15, 2012, the realigned Autoroute 30 permits motorists travelling the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor to bypass Montreal.

Description

There are two discontinuous sections of A-30:

Montérégie

The main 143 km (89 mi) segment extends from Autoroute 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion to Route 133 in Sorel-Tracy.

From the junction of Autoroute 20 in Vaudreuil-Dorion to Route 138 in Châteauguay a completely new freeway was constructed between 2007 and 2012, opening to traffic in December 2012. This new section, built under a Public-Private Partnership, along with the former A-540 west of Vaudreuil make up the first 38 km (24 mi) of the highway now. An approximately 21-kilometre (13 mi) long section bypasses the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake and the South Shore communities of Saint-Constant, Delson, and Candiac. The Kahnawake bypass was built following the 1990 Oka Crisis and extended to the other three communities between 2005 and 2011. The A-30 was originally intended to supplant Route 132, crossing Kahnawake to a junction with the Honoré Mercier Bridge. Local opposition to the proposed route from the late 1960s coupled with the disruption of the Oka Crisis in 1990 prompted the decision to change the course of the new autoroute to bypass the Mohawk territory This new alignment resulted in the 1990 construction, 1992 twinning, then the 2010 redesignation of a 3.2 km (2.0 mi) portion of highway as Autoroute 730. The A-730 now extends from the A-30 mainline in Saint-Constant to Route 132 in Sainte-Catherine. Another 3.2 km (2.0 mi) section from the existing A-30 to Route 132 in Candiac has been redesignated Autoroute 930 since construction of the Jean-Leman section ended in November 2011. Further west, an 8.3 km (5.2 mi) bypass of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield became Autoroute 530 in 2012 when construction of the A-30 extension was completed.

Northeast of Montreal the autoroute parallels Route 132, bypassing the steelmaking centres of Contrecoeur and Sorel-Tracy.

Centre-du-Québec

An 18.3 km super two segment in Bécancour, from Route 132 immediately west to an interchange with Autoroute 55 (near Laviolette Bridge, south of Trois-Rivières). The A-30 parallels the St. Lawrence River, bypassing the communities of Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval and Des Ormeaux and linking the Port of Bécancour to the autoroute network. Multiplexed with Route 132, the A-30 continues as a two-lane road for a short distance further before ending at the western approach to Gentilly. The road continues on as Route 132.

Exit list

Region	Location	km	mi	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Montérégie	Vaudreuil-Dorion	0.0	0.0	4	1	A-40 (TCH) to Highway 417 – Montreal, Ottawa, Gatineau	A-40 exit 32; access to Mirabel Airport
		1.6	1.0	3	2	Route 340 (Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes)
		3.4	2.1	2	4	Route 342 (Route Harwood)
		4.9	3.0	1	5	A-20 to Highway 401 – Rivière-Beaudette, Toronto, Montreal	A-20 exit 29; access to P.E. Trudeau Airport
	Les Cèdres	8.6	5.3		9	Route 338 – Les Cèdres, Pointe-des-Cascades
	Soulanges Canal			Tunnel
	Soulanges Canal Saint Lawrence River			Toll barrier
	Saint Lawrence River			Serge Marcil Bridge
	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	13.0	8.1		13	A-530 west – Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	A-530 exit 12
	Beauharnois	16.5	10.3		17	Chemin du Canal
	Beauharnois Canal			Madeleine Parent Bridge
	Beauharnois	22.0	13.7		22	Route 236 (Chemin Saint-Louis) – Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois
		25.8	16.0		26	Route 205 (Chemin de la Beauce) – Sainte-Martine
	Châteauguay	34.8	21.6		35	Chemin de la Haute-Rivière / Boulevard René-Lévesque
		37.2	23.1	80	38	Route 132 (Saint-Jean-Baptiste boulevard) / Route 138 – Downtown Châteauguay, Huntingdon, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
		40.6	25.2	83	41	Industriel boulevard / Sainte-Marguerite boulevard
	Saint-Isidore	43.9	27.3	86	44	Route 207 / Route 221 – Kahnawake, Saint-Rémi, Saint-Isidore
	Saint-Constant	46.4	28.8	89	47	A-730 north – Saint-Constant, Sainte-Catherine, Honoré-Mercier bridge	A-730 exit 1
	Candiac	54.2	33.7		55	A-15 / Route 132 to  – Montreal, New York	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; A-15 exit 40
		58.1	36.1		58	A-15 / Route 132 to  – Saint-Constant, Sainte-Catherine	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; A-15 exit 42
	La Prairie	62.3	38.7	104	62	Route 104 – La Prairie, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
	Brossard	64.4	40.0	107	65	Boulevard Matte, Boulevard de Rome
		67.3	41.8	109	67	A-10 (Boulevard de Rome) – Montreal, Sherbrooke	A-10 exit 11
	Brossard–Longueuil city line	69.2	43.0	110	69	Grande-Allée
	Longueuil	73.2	45.5	115	73	Route 112 (Boulevard Cousineau, Chemin de Chambly)
	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	76.0	47.2	118	76	Route 116 (Boulevard des Promenades) – Belœil, Jacques-Cartier bridge	Route 116 exit 9
		77.8	48.3	120	78	Clairevue boulevard – Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Centre-Ville	Access to Saint-Hubert Airport
		79.8	49.6	121	80	Montée Montarville
	Boucherville	83.5	51.9	125	83	A-20 (TCH) – Montreal, Quebec City	A-20 exit 98
	Boucherville–Sainte-Julie city line	87.0	54.1	128	87	Varennes, Sainte-Julie, Saint-Amable
	Varennes	94.7	58.8	136	95	Montée de Picardie
		98.2	61.0	141	98	Montée de la Baronnie, Chemin de la Butte-aux-Renards
	Verchères	104.9	65.2	147	105	Verchères
		107.1	66.5	149	107	Calixa-Lavallée
	Contrecoeur	112.4	69.8	154	113	Montée Lapierre
		116.9	72.6	158	117	Montée de la Pomme-d'Or
		118.8	73.8	160	119	Rue Saint-Antoine
		126.1	78.4	168	126	Montée Saint-Roch
	Sorel-Tracy	135.1	83.9	178	135	Chemin du Golf
		138.9	86.3	181	138	Boulevard de Tracy / Boulevard des Érables
		140.0	87.0	182	140	Boulevard Saint-Louis
		141.0	87.6	184	141	Route 223 (Chemin Saint-Roch)
		142.5	88.5		143	Route 133 (Chemin des Patriotes / Boulevard Gagné)	At-grade intersection
					–	Boulevard Poliquin	At-grade intersection
Gap in route
Centre-du-Québec	Bécancour				208	Route 132	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
					209	A-55 – Drummondville, Trois-Rivières	A-55 exit 176
					–	Route 132	At-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       ETC       Incomplete access

Extension of Autoroute 30 (Montreal Bypass Project)

The completion of Autoroute 30 as a southern bypass was intended to better integrate greater Montreal's network of autoroutes, significantly reduce transit time to and through the region, boost economic activity in Montérégie, and improve access to markets in Ontario (via Ontario highways 401 and 417) and the United States (via Interstates 87 and 89). This new section was completed on December 15, 2012. The westernmost section was financed through a public–private partnership, in which the government contracted with Acciona (a Spanish engineering and construction company) to design, construct, operate, maintain, and finance the autoroute. The eastern section of the A-30 extension was publicly funded.

Candiac–Châteauguay

File:Quebec Autoroute 30 - Oct 2012 - EB 47.8 (1).JPG

Eastbound A-30 in Saint-Constant

Construction of this portion of the A-30—from an interchange with the A-15 (and the spur A-930) in Candiac to Châteauguay—began in 2005 and opened to traffic on November 19, 2010. This section was linked to the A-30 mainline in November 2011. Motorists using A-30 can quickly access New York via the A-15 and Interstate 87.

• Quebec Autoroute 30 - Oct 2012 - EB 47.8 (1).JPG
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - Autoroute 15 - Oct 2012 (1).JPG
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - Autoroute 15 - Oct 2012 (2).JPG

Châteauguay – Vaudreuil-Dorion

File:Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (2).jpg

A-30 bridge across the Beauharnois Canal

A new 35 km (21.7 mi) four-lane divided highway has been constructed, and opened to traffic on December 15, 2012. The A-30 crosses the St. Lawrence River to a redesigned interchange with A-20 and the former A-540. The new river crossing expedites the region's access to Toronto via A-20 and Ontario Highway 401.

A-540 (a short spur road connecting A-20 with A-40) was re-designated A-30 once construction was complete. Thus, A-30's ultimate western terminus is at the junction with A-40, providing access to Ottawa and eastern Ontario via Ontario Highway 417.

• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB (01).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - EB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (2).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (4).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (5).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - Beauharnois Canal Bridge - View of Montreal.jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (6).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB (03).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB (04).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB Toll Barrier (1).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Soulanges Canal Tunnel (2).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - EB (1).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - EB (2).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - EB (5).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - EB (6).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 30 - Autoroute 20 WB (1).jpg

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

Main article: Quebec Autoroute 530

The re-routing of A-30 across the St. Lawrence River resulted in the re-designation of a 7 km (4.3 mi) long section of the original route as A-530. This spur route links the re-aligned A-30 mainline with Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. A-530 features two interchanges, one at boulevard Pie XII and the other at Route 201.

• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (1).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (2).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (3).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (4).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (5).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (6).jpg
• Quebec Autoroute 530 - EB (7).jpg

Future

The current Montreal bypass project puts an end to the idea that any autoroute will be constructed to the U.S. border at Dundee as originally intended. The lack of a corresponding Interstate highway corridor in neighbouring New York (and the availability of nearby Interstate 87) has further diminished the importance of this area as a border crossing.

Though unsigned as such, a short freeway extension west of the interchange with A-55 with overpasses that was built wide enough to accommodate unbuilt freeway lanes recall Transports-Québec's original plans for A-30. There are currently no plans to close the A-30 gap between Sorel-Tracy and Bécancour, or extend A-30 at all in the area, as the current annual average daily traffic levels on Route 132 are insufficient to justify such a project.

External links

• A30 Express Transponder
• Nouvelle Autoroute 30 S.E.N.C. (construction site)
• Map of future Autoroute 30
• The completion of Autoroute 30 (Autoroute 30 Official website)
• De L'Acier Autoroute (A-30) at MontrealRoads.com
• Transports Quebec Map
• A-30 at Exitlists.com
• A-30 at Quebec Autoroutes