Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroute on the north shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. It is one of the two major connections between Montreal and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, the other being Autoroute 20 on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. Autoroute 40 is currently long. Between the Ontario–Quebec boundary and the interchange with Autoroute 25, the route is signed as part of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

Route description

The western terminus of Autoroute 40 is located at the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

–Quebec border, where it continues as

Highway 417 The following highways are numbered 417: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 417 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 417 * Ontario Highway 417 Costa Rica * National Route 417 Iceland * Route 417 Japan * Japan National Route 417 United States * ...

towards

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

; the eastern terminus is in

Boischatel Boischatel is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The town was originally called Saint-Jean-de-Boischatel. The town itself is located along the Montmorency River. Near the boundary with Beauport are the Montmorenc ...

, where it transitions into Route 138 at the end of the freeway. The portion of Autoroute 40 from the Ontario border to Autoroute 25 is part of the

. The Metropolitan Autoroute portion in Montreal is the busiest highway in Quebec, the busiest section of the

, as well as the second busiest highway section overall in Canada after

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

in Toronto.

History

Two sections of Autoroute 40 were not part of the original plans: The original intention was to bypass

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

to the north (the existing A-40 through downtown would have been Autoroute 755 and the concurrency with Autoroute 55 would have been simply A-55). In addition, a different route was originally planned around

south of Jean Lesage International Airport (the existing segment of Autoroute 40 between

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City. The town was founded in 1691 by three families (Desroches, Racette, Couture). It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, 2002 ...

and Autoroute 73 would have been the western end of Autoroute 440, thus explaining the exit numbering starting at 12). While the right-of-ways of both bypasses still exist and may still be developed in the future as congestion increases, there are no immediate plans to renew construction. A stretch of the highway in

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 ce ...

, from roughly St. John's Boulevard, near

Fairview Pointe-Claire Fairview Pointe-Claire (corporately styled as "CF Fairview Pointe-Claire") is the largest shopping mall in the West Island and one of the biggest on the Island of Montreal. It is located in the city of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada, at the interse ...

Shopping Centre, to the turnaround loop, Senneville Road was used during the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

for the men's road team time trial cycling race.1976 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 156-8. WPQc-228 Autoroute Félix-Leclerc (A40) - Est

In 1997, the highway (apart from the portion served by the Metropolitan Autoroute) was renamed Autoroute Félix-Leclerc after the late Quebec artist and political activist

Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...

. Prior to 1997, Autoroute 40 east of Montreal had four different names, the first section was named ''Autoroute de la Rive-Nord'' (North Shore Autoroute) between Montréal and

(km 87 to 196, 209 to 296). A segment in

east of Autoroute 55 that was named ''Autoroute de Francheville'' (Francheville Autoroute) (km 196 to 207). Between

and Autoroute 73 in Quebec City (km 296 to 307) it was called '' Autoroute Charest''. Finally, between the junction of Autoroute 73 and Autoroute 573 and its eastern end at Route 138 it was known as ''Autoroute de la Capitale'', a name that is still commonly used by Quebec City residents. To The 40 & 15

Exit list

References

External links

Metropolitan Expressway (Autoroute Metropolitaine) at Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com

Transports Quebec Map
{{Streets in Montreal Venues of the 1976 Summer Olympics 40 Quebec 040 Transport in Repentigny, Quebec Roads in Montreal Streets in Quebec City Transport in Terrebonne, Quebec Transport in Dorval Transport in Pointe-Claire Transport in Trois-Rivières Former toll roads in Canada

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links