Quebec Autoroute 31
 Autoroute 31 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autoroute Antonio-Barrette | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Transports Québec | ||||
| Length | 14 km[1][2] (8.7 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1966[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   A-40 / R-131 in Lavaltrie | |||
| North end |  R-131 / R-158 in Joliette | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Quebec | |||
| Major cities | Lavaltrie, Joliette | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Autoroute 31 (A-31) is an Autoroute in the region of Lanaudière in Quebec. Constructed in 1966, the A-31 primarily links Joliette with the A-40 and in turn to Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and other points served by Quebec's autoroute system. The A-31 is only 14 km (8.7 mi) long, making it one of the shortest autoroutes in the province. It is multiplexed with Route 131 for its entire length.
The A-31 also carries the name Autoroute Antonio-Barrette, named for a politician from Joliette who briefly served as Premier of Quebec in 1960.
Route description
The A-31 begins just south of its interchange with A-40 in Lavaltrie. Motorists exiting the A-40 can opt to travel north on A-31 (multiplexed with Route 131) or south on Route 131 to Lavaltrie's city centre. The A-31/A-40 interchange has an unusual configuration, built to accommodate tollbooths (since dismantled). Also unusual for a Quebec autoroute: agricultural vehicles like tractors are permitted to cross over the A-40 by travelling on A-31 from its southern terminus to exit 2. For this reason, an automated traffic regulation system (commissioned in 2009) lowers the speed limit automatically from 100/60 km/h to 90/30 km/h as needed.
Exits at km 2 and km 7 provide access to local roads, while a partial interchange at km 12 serves an industrial zone south of Joliette.
The A-31 ends at km 15 at a cloverleaf interchange with Route 158. Plans for Quebec's autoroute system initially called for A-31 to meet the A-50 at this interchange. Anticipating this outcome, Route 158 in the immediate vicinity of the interchange was constructed as a limited-access highway and signed as A-50. Once plans to extend the A-50 east of the A-15 were abandoned in the 1980s, this stretch of highway was redesignated Route 158. A series of deadly accidents on Route 158 prompted a 2014 petition drive to reconstruct the highway to Autoroute standards and return the designation of A-50.[3]
Motorists exiting the A-31 at km 15 may continue on Route 158 west to St-Esprit, Route 158 east to Berthierville, or Route 131 north to Saint-Félix-de-Valois. Past this interchange, A-31 ends and becomes Boulevard Dollard, which continues into downtown Joliette.
Exit list
| RCM | Location | km | mi | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavaltrie | 0.00 | 0.00 | – | R-131 south – Lavaltrie | Souterh terminus of concurrency with Route 131 | |
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 1 | A-40 – Québec, Montréal | Partial at-grade intersection; exit 22 on A-40 | ||
| 1.00 | 0.62 | 2 | Rang Saint-Henri / Rang du Point-du-Jour | |||
| Saint-Thomas | 7.00 | 4.35 | 7 | Saint-Thomas, Saint-Paul | ||
| 12 | Rue Ernest-Harnois / Rue Nazaire-Laurin | Northbound exit and entrance | ||||
| Joliette | 13.00 | 8.08 | 14 | R-158 north / R-131 – Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Berthierville, Saint-Jérôme | Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 131; signed as exits 14E (east) and 14O (west) | |
| 14.00 | 8.70 | – | Boulevard Dollard / Rue Calixa-Lavalleé / Rue Joseph-Arthur – Joliette Centre-Ville | Continuation beyond Route 158 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
References
- ^ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
- ^ a b "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Ferland, Mathieu (24 July 2014). "Une pétition circule pour modifier la route 158". Le Journal de Joliette (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2016.
External links
