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Quebec Autoroute 15: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 45°21′22″N 73°31′11″W / 45.3560°N 73.5198°W / 45.3560; -73.5198
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==1987 flash flood==
==1987 flash flood==


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 <ref>[http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/fr/manage/floodgen/f_que.htm]</ref> including one on the Expressway.
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 <ref>[http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/fr/manage/floodgen/f_que.htm]</ref>. 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 over. <ref>[http://www2.canoe.com/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2005/07/20050707-085407.html]</ref>
On July 5, 2005, another torrential downpour flooded portions of the Expressway after several manhole covers blew over. <ref>[http://www2.canoe.com/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2005/07/20050707-085407.html]</ref>

Revision as of 15:47, 12 September 2010

Autoroute Décarie, Décarie Autoroute, Décarie Expressway, Quebec Route 9 and Decarie Boulevard redirect here.

Autoroute 15 marker

Autoroute 15

Autoroute Décarie, Autoroute des Laurentides
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length164 km[1][2] (102 mi)
Existed1958 [2][3]–present
Major junctions
South end I-87 and US 9 towards Champlain, NY
Major intersectionsLua error in Module:Jct at line 204: attempt to concatenate local 'link' (a nil value). in Candiac
A-10 / A-20 / A-720 / A-40 in Montreal
A-440 in Laval
A-640 in Boisbriand
A-50 in Mirabel
North endFile:Quebec Autoroute .svg R-117 / R-329 / A- (TCH) in Sainte-Agathe
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
Major citiesCandiac, La Prairie, Brossard, Montreal, Laval, Boisbriand, Blainville, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Adèle, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Highway system
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) Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autoroute 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). 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 (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. 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 will be completed to Autoroute 20 in 2009 providing a quicker access to the south shore of Montreal, to southern communities located alongside Autoroute 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.

Autoroute Décarie

Autoroute Décarie, Décarie Autoroute, Décarie Expressway, Quebec Route 9 and Décarie Boulevard redirect here.
File:Picture2 203.jpg
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 which 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 from Autoroute 40 north into Ville Saint-Laurent past Du College Station and Côte-Vertu Station/Norgate shopping centre.

See also

Boulevard Décarie

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

Location No. Destinations Notes
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle 0 Lua error in Module:Jct at line 204: attempt to concatenate local 'link' (a nil value). - New York
1 Montée Glass, Montée Guay
6 R-202 – Hemmingford, Lacolle
11 Montée Henrysburg
13 Montée Murray Southbound exit only
Saint-Patrice-de-Sherrington, Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur 21 R-217 / R-219 / R-221 – Napierville, Sherrington
Saint-Édouard 29 Saint-Édouard, Saint-Jacques
Saint-Mathieu 38 Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Philippe
Candiac 42 A-30 west / R-132 – Châteauguay, Sorel, Québec, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield South end of Route 132 overlap
44 Boulevard Montcalm, Candiac
45 R-134 east (Boulevard Taschereau) – La Prairie Northbound exit and southbound entrance
La Prairie 46 Boulevard Salaberry, La Prairie
47 Rue Saint-Henri, La Prairie Northbound exit and entrance
- Parc de la Marina Southbound exit and entrance
Brossard 50 Boulevard Matte
51 Boulevard Rivard Southbound exit is via exit 50
51 Rue Riviera Southbound exit and entrance
52 Boulevard Rome
A-20 east / R-132 east – Longueuil North end of Route 132 overlap; south end of A-20 overlap
Boulevard Marie-Victorin Exits only
A-10 east to A-30 / I-89 – Sherbrooke, Québec, Vermont South end of A-10 overlap
Champlain Bridge over the St. Lawrence River
Montreal
57 Île de Sœurs
58 A-10 west – Montreal North end of A-10 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
60 Wellington Street, A-10 west – Montreal, Verdun
61 Rue Atwater, Saint Patrick Street
62 Boulevard de La Vérendrye, Avenue de l'Église
63 A-20 west / A-720 east (Autoroute Ville-Marie) – Montreal, Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Pont Mercier, Toronto North end of A-20 overlap; signed as exits 63-E (east) and 63-O (west) southbound
64 R-138 (Rue Sherbrooke)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
66 Chemin Côte-Saint-Luc, Chemin Queen-Mary
69 Rue Jean-Talon, Rue de la Savane, Avenue Van Horne
70-O File:Quebec Autoroute .svg A-40 west / A- (TCH) west to A-520 – Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Gatineau, Ottawa South end of A-40/TCH overlap
67 R-117 north (Boulevard Marcel-Laurin)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated southbound exit and northbound entrance only
68 Rue Stinson, Chemin Rockland, Boulevard de L'Acadie northbound exit and southbound entrance only
1-E File:Quebec Autoroute .svg A-40 east / A- (TCH) east – QuébecModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated North end of A-40/TCH overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance only
2 Chemin de la Côte-Vertu, Saint-Laurent Southbound exit and northbound entrance
2 Boulevard de L'Acadie Northbound exit and entrance
3 Boulevard Henri-Bourassa no northbound exit, southbound entrance and exit via Jules-Poitras Boulevard
4 Rue de Salaberry Signed as exits 4-E (east) and 4-O (west) southbound, no southbound entrance
Médéric Martin Bridge over the Rivière des Prairies
Laval
7 Boulevard de la Concorde, Boulevard Cartier, Boulevard Notre-Dame
8 R-148 (Boulevard Saint-Martin) Southbound exit is via exit 10
10 A-440 (Autoroute Laval)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
14 R-117 (Boulevard Curé Labelle)Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated Signed as exits 14-N (north) and 14-S (south) southbound
16 Boulevard Sainte-Rose, Av. de la Renaissance
Gédéon-Ouimet Bridge over the Rivière des Mille Îles
Boisbriand
19 R-344 – Boisbriand, Rosemère
Boisbriand, Sainte-Thérèse 20 A-640 to A-13 – Repentigny, Québec, Aéroport P.E. Trudeau, Saint-EustacheModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated Signed as exits 20-E (east) and 20-O (west)
23 Rue Saint-Charles, Mirabel, Saint-Augustin
Mirabel, Blainville 25 Blainville
28 Blainville, Mirabel New exit opened in August 2009
Mirabel 31 Mirabel, Saint-Janvier, Sainte-Monique
35 A-50 – Aéroport Mirabel, Lachute, Gatineau
39 R-158 – Mirabel, Saint-Antoine, Sainte-Sophie, Saint-Canut
Saint-Jérôme 41 Boulevard du Grand-Héron
43 Saint-Jérôme, Bellefeuille, Saint-Colomban Signed as exits 43-E (east) and 43-O (west)
45 R-117 – Prévost, Lafontaine, Saint-HippolyteModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
51 Aire de Service La Porte du Nord (rest area)
Prévost 55 Prévost Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs 57 Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs Northbound exit and southbound entrance
58 Chemin Avila, Piedmont
Saint-Sauveur 60 R-364 – Saint-Sauveur, Morin-Heights, Piedmont, Saint-Adolphe
Sainte-Adèle 64 Chemin du Mont-Gabriel
67 R-117 – Sainte-Adèle Northbound exit and southbound entrance
69 R-370 (Chemin Pierre-Péladeau) – Sainte-Adèle, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, Estérel
72 Montée à Séraphin, Chemin du Mont-Sauvage, Sainte-Adèle Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Val-Morin 76 R-117 – Val-Morin, Val-David Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Val-David 80 7e Rang, Val-David Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts 83 To R-329 south – Saint-Adolphe-d'HowardModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated Northbound exit and southbound entrance
86 R-117 – Val-David, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
88 Rue Demontigny Northbound exit and southbound entrance
89 R-117 south (Boulevard Morin) / R-329 – Saint-Donat, St-Adolphe-d'Howard

File:Quebec Autoroute .svg R-117 north (Route Transcanadienne) / A- (TCH) west

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 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, also in Laval, on Autoroute 19 where the collapse of the De la Concorde overpass killed five.

The overpass was under construction at the time the incident occurred. The company in charge of the project was Beaver Ridge, a company that was under bankruptcy protection and was without a construction license for about four months. Dessau-Soprin was an engineering firm that was supervising the project operations. [5] [6] [7]

The city of Laval affirmed that, prior to the collapse, it discovered unspecified problems with some of the beams of the overpass. Beaver Ridge president Mario D'Errico told Le Devoir that the failure was caused by a rupture of one of the beams—which was later confirmed by a Transports Quebec employee—citing an instability of one of them which then consequently caused the collapse of every single beam on the south side. Generally, beams are fixed together in the form of an X[8] [9]

Inspectors from the Commission de la Santé et de la Sécurite du Travail (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. [10] [11]

Public inquests 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 had presented incomplete and inadequate plans for the project. No criminal charges were laid in the case [12].

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 [13] which required extensive repairs and renovations during the following years.

1987 flash flood

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 [14]. 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 over. [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
  2. ^ a b "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  3. ^ 1958
  4. ^ Autoroute Montréal-Laurentides
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ [3]
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ [6]
  11. ^ [7]
  12. ^ [8]
  13. ^ [9]
  14. ^ [10]
  15. ^ [11]
Preceded by Trans-Canada Highway
Autoroute 15
Succeeded by

45°21′22″N 73°31′11″W / 45.3560°N 73.5198°W / 45.3560; -73.5198