Autoroute 15 (also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) between the
Turcot and
Décarie Interchanges in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of
Autoroute 40) is a
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
in western
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 thirte ...
, Canada. It was, until the extension of
Autoroute 25 was opened in 2011, the only constructed north-south autoroute to go out of Montreal on both sides. A-15 begins at the end of
Interstate 87 at the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
border at
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle and extends via Montreal to
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Sa ...
with an eventual continuation beyond
Mont-Tremblant
Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for i ...
. The total length of A-15 is currently , including a short concurrency () 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
The southern section of A-15 connects the
south shore suburbs of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
and is also the primary trade corridor route between Montreal and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
linking Quebec Autoroute 15 to
Interstate 87 at the Canada-United States border at the
Champlain-St. Bernard de Lacolle Border Crossing. This was the former
Route 9, and connected with
US 9
U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betwe ...
on the western shore of
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type ...
. In
Brossard
Brossard (, , ) is a municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada and is part of the Greater Montreal area. According to the 2021 census, Brossard's population was 91,525. It shares powers with the urban agglomeration of Longueuil ...
, it joins up with
A-10
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...
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
Autoroute 10 (A-10) is an Autoroute of Quebec in Canada that links greater Montreal to key population centres in Montérégie and Estrie, including Brossard, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Granby, and Sherbrooke.
The A-10 also provides access to p ...
and the A-20 splits off shortly after at the
Turcot Interchange
The Turcot Interchange is a three-level four-way freeway interchange within the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located southwest of downtown, the interchange links Autoroutes 15 (Décarie and Décarie South Expressways) and 20 (Remembrance H ...
(''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
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 on ...
into the Metropolitan Expressway.
The route is also connected to
Autoroute 30 in
Candiac which was completed to
Autoroute 20 in 2012 providing quick access to the south shore of Montreal, to southern communities located alongside Autoroute 15 and to the
Canada–US border in
Lacolle. It will also give quicker access from there to areas west of Montreal and also
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 c ...
and
Gatineau
Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's Na ...
.
Décarie Autoroute
The Décarie Autoroute is a
sunken highway between the northbound and southbound lanes of Decarie Boulevard from the
Metropolitan Autoroute 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 a streetcar line would 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
Queen Mary Road (officially in french: chemin Queen-Mary) is an east-west road located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Queen Mary Road crosses the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace and the town of Hampstead and is located on the north ...
, however, were a significant number of houses that were demolished.
To avoid demolishing Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Church, the highway makes a slight westerly jog below
Côte-Saint-Luc Road and runs through a short
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
, before emerging between Addington and Botrel Streets and running down to
Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street (officially in french: rue Sherbrooke) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of ...
and
Saint Jacques Street, where it spectacularly goes from being below the ground to well above the ground as it intersects with
Autoroute 20 and
Route 136 in the infamous
Turcot Interchange
The Turcot Interchange is a three-level four-way freeway interchange within the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located southwest of downtown, the interchange links Autoroutes 15 (Décarie and Décarie South Expressways) and 20 (Remembrance H ...
(dubbed "
Spaghetti Junction
Spaghetti junction is a nickname sometimes given to a complex or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that is said to resemble a plate of spaghetti. Such interchanges may incorporate a variety of interchange design elements in ord ...
" by train crews operating the former CN Rail Turcot Yard). Following the conversion from streetcar line to the highway, the Décarie estate sued the city but was unable to prevail because it did not document its case well enough for the nevertheless sympathetic court.
Decarie Boulevard
Decarie Boulevard itself continues; from
Monkland Avenue south to Saint Jacques Street past the
McGill University Health Centre
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex ...
Glen Campus superhospital; and from
Autoroute 40 north into
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
past
Du College Station and
Côte-Vertu Station/
Norgate shopping centre to Poirier Street. Between Monkland Avenue and
A 40, Decarie Boulevard serves as sort of a service road on both sides of the autoroute.
Northern section
After its concurrency with
A-40, the northern section of A-15 is the main highway route to the
Laurentians or
Laurentides
The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 C ...
, 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-Jérôme
Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the Montreal of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the ...
was opened on August 29, 1959 (source Montreal Star Aug. 29, 1959, page 3) as a toll road, although the tolls were removed in 1985. This section was also the first to be designed as an autoroute in the province. It was named Autoroute Montréal-Laurentides during the 1960s.
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
Sainte-Adèle () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, and is part of the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality. It lies on Route 117 about north-west of Montreal. Its tourism-based economy centres on its skiing and hotel industry. Sain ...
and
Estérel. In the future, it is possible that the A-15 may continue even farther north, past
Mont-Tremblant
Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for its ...
, as Route 117 is already an at-grade expressway with a freeway bypass of Mont-Tremblant 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
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 ...
.
Exit list
Exit numbering resets at the two interchanges with
Autoroute 40 in
Montréal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
.
Disasters
On February 19, 2020, white-out conditions caused a pile-up involving more than 200 vehicles in
La Prairie, a suburb of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. Two persons died and more than 70 were injured.
On June 18, 2000, the southern portion of the
Boulevard du Souvenir overpass in Laval (which crosses over Quebec Autoroute 15), under reconstruction, collapsed into the roadway, killing one and injuring two when cars were crushed underneath the structure. Sixteen beams weighing about each fell. The contractor was faulted for shoddy work. The arched
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
s were unsecured and tipped over like
dominoes
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
, many of them breaking into pieces.
The expressway has also seen flooding. On July 14, 1987, a sudden torrential downpour caused by an HP
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
dumped over 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 in depth on the roadway. Over 300 vehicles were abandoned when they were submerged. Two people were killed by the storm. One 80-year-old man on the Expressway drowned and another one was killed by
electrical wires
Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure.
Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and installation. Allowable ...
(
electrocuted
Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death.
The term "electrocution" was coined ...
). On July 5, 2005, another torrential downpour flooded portions of the Expressway after several manhole covers blew open from the storm sewers below them being overloaded.
Canoe – Infos – Québec-Canada: 30 millimètres d’eau en deux minutes sur l’autoroute Décarie
/ref>
See also
* Decarie Boulevard
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) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autorout ...
* Gibeau Orange Julep
The Gibeau Orange Julep restaurant (also known colloquially as OJ or The Big Orange or The Julep) is a roadside attraction and fast food restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building is in the shape of an orange, three stories high, with a ...
Notes
References
External links
A-15 at Exitlists.com
A-15 at Quebec Autoroutes
Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Decarie Autoroute (A-15)
Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Laurentian Autoroute (A-15)
Transports Quebec Map
{{Streets in Montreal
15
Quebec 015
Roads in Laval, Quebec
Roads in Montreal
Verdun, Quebec
Transport in Brossard
Former toll roads in Canada