Autoroute 30 (A-30), or the Autoroute de l'Acier (In English, ''Steel Freeway'') is an Autoroute in

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. 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 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 ...

. The A-30 was originally intended to begin at Autoroute 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion and end at Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets (in Centre-du-Québec). :fr:Autoroute 30 In the late 1970s an eight-year moratorium on new autoroute construction in favour of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

by the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

prevented implementation of that plan. The original section of Autoroute 30 in 1968 linked

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstr ...

to Route 116, which was then called Highway 9. The A-30 was extended to an interchange with Autoroute 10 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 ...

by 1985 and to Autoroute 15 in Candiac by 1996. Growing road congestion in and around

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 ...

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 Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located both on the Chateauguay River and Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the city of Châteauguay at the 2021 Cen ...

Vaudreuil-Dorion Vaudreuil-Dorion () is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. ...

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

, 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 A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...

and assigned new route numbers; for instance the old alignment of A-30 south of

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...

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.Press Release (French)
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Description

There are two discontinuous sections of A-30:

Montérégie

The main segment extends from Autoroute 40 in

to Route 133 in Sorel-Tracy. From the junction of Autoroute 20 in

to Route 138 in

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 of the highway now. An approximately long section bypasses the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

territory of

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Queb ...

and the South Shore communities of Saint-Constant, Delson, and Candiac. The Kahnawake bypass was built following the 1990

Oka Crisis The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...

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 The Honoré Mercier Bridge in Quebec, Canada, connects the Montreal borough of LaSalle on the Island of Montreal with the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, Quebec and the suburb of Châteauguay on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It is th ...

. 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 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 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 bypass of

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

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

). The A-30 parallels the St. Lawrence River, bypassing the communities of Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval and Des Ormeaux and linking the

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

of Bécancour to the autoroute network.

Multiplexed In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

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

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 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 C ...

(via Ontario highways

401 __NOTOC__ Year 401 ( CDI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vincentius and Fravitus (or, less frequently, year 1154 ' ...

and 417) and 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(via Interstates 87 and 89). This new section was completed on December 15, 2012. The westernmost section was financed through a

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...

, 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

Quebec Autoroute 30 - WB - Beauharnois Canal Bridge (2)

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.

Châteauguay – Vaudreuil-Dorion

A new 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 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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 King's Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and as the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Ottawa with Montreal via A-40, and is the backbone of the highway system in the ...

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

The re-routing of A-30 across the St. Lawrence River resulted in the re-designation of a 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.

References

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

{{Authority control 30 Public–private partnership projects in Canada Ring roads in Canada Toll roads in Canada