Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

in the

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, 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 (Canadian French, 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 A ...

Route description

The western terminus of Autoroute 40 is located at the

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–Quebec border, where it continues as Highway 417 towards

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

; 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. Geography The town itself is located along the Montmorency River and St. Lawrence River. Near the bound ...

, 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 prov ...

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 (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located 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 had been Autoroute 755 and the concurrency with Autoroute 55 would have been temporary). 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, ...

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 cen ...

, 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 The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

for the men's road team time trial cycling race.1976 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. pp. 156-8. 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 Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posthumously inducted into ...

. 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.

Exit list

Rest stops

References

External links

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

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Transports Quebec Map
{{Streets in Montreal Venues of the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic cycling venues 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