Quebec Autoroute 55
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| Autoroute 55 |
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| Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier Autoroute Transquébécoise |
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| Length: | 247 km (153 mi) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1964 | ||||||||
| Direction: | North/South | ||||||||
| From: | Stanstead, Quebec | ||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 in Magog  &  in Sherbrooke in Drummondville in Sainte-Eulalie &  in Bécancour &  in Trois-Rivières |
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| To: | Shawinigan, Quebec | ||||||||
| Major cities: | Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan | ||||||||
| System: | City/Rural highway | ||||||||
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Autoroute 55 (also called Autoroute Transquébécoise (North of the Autoroute 20) and Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier (South part) is an important north-south Autoroute and the only one running in that direction in central Quebec. It is the longest north-south Autoroute, running from the United States border at Stanstead (where it continues as Interstate 91) to Shawinigan where it downgrades to Route 155. The total length of A-55 is currently 247 km (153 miles), including concurrencies with Autoroutes 10, 20 and 40.
The main purpose of this Autoroute is to connect the mid-sized communities of Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan and the smaller communities in between. The most notable feature on A-55 is the Laviolette Bridge between Trois-Rivières and Bécancour, which is the longest bridge in Quebec and one of the longest in Canada.
A-55 had a short "gap" between Bécancour and Drummondville which was under construction and it was completed in October 2006. The gap results from Transports Quebec's original intention of bringing A-55 southeast towards Victoriaville along what is now Autoroute 955 before shifting southwest to rejoin existing A-55 near Richmond. However, the plans changed in the 1970s and the present routing was chosen. The southern section was originally supposed to be Autoroute 51 which was intended to continue to Pierreville. A-55 was signed along Route 155 (which is not an Autoroute-standard highway) until the new route was completed.
All of the southern portion of A-55 became a full four-lane freeway by the end of October 2006. The gap being filled in the northern portion will initially be a two-lane freeway for about 20 km (15 mi), but it is intended to ultimately be four lanes.
While some people hope that A-55 will be extended further north towards La Tuque and Roberval, there are currently no plans to extend the route.
The designation Autoroute Joseph-Armand Bombardier is in honour of Quebec businessman Joseph-Armand Bombardier, who lived in Valcourt, near where A-55 passes and who invented the snowmobile there. His company, Bombardier, started by building snowmobiles and eventually grew into a major international manufacturer of transit vehicles and aircraft.
The designation Autoroute Transquébécoise means "Trans-Quebec", although this section north of A-20 is likely to remain at its comparatively short length to Shawinigan for the foreseeable future.
[edit] Exit list
| RCM or ET | Location | # | Destinations | Notes |
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Continues into Vermont as  Interstate 91 |
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| Memphrémagog | Stanstead |  Route 247 |
At-grade intersection | |
| 2 |  Route 143 – Stanstead |
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| Chemin Curtis | At-grade intersection | |||
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley | 21 |  Route 141 – Ayer's Cliff, Coaticook |
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| 29 |  Route 108 – Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, North Hatley, Lennoxville |
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| Magog | 32 | Rue-Saint-Patrice, Boulevard Industriel | ||
| 33 |  Route 112 – Magog, Omerville |
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| 34/121 |  A-10 – Montréal |
Signed as exits 34-E (East) and 34-O (West) northbound / Signed as 121 southbound / South end of A-10 overlap | ||
| 123 |  Route 112 to Route 249 – Omerville, Magog, Saint-Denis-de-Brompton |
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| Sherbrooke | Sherbrooke |  Route 112 west to A-10 west / A-55 south – Magog, Montréal |
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 128 | Route 112 (Boulevard Bourque) – Deauville, Rock Forest, Sherbrooke |
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| 133 | Rock Forest, Saint-Élie-d'Orford | |||
| 137 |  Route 220 (Boulevard Industriel) – Saint-Élie-d'Orford |
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| 140 |  A-410 – Sherbrooke |
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| 141 | Chemin Saint-Joseph | |||
| 143 |  A-610 east / Route 112 east – Fleurimont, East Angus, Lac-Mégantic |
North end of A-10 overlap | ||
| 58 |  Route 222 – Saint-Denis-de-Brompton, Valcourt |
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| 60 | Bromptonville | |||
| Le Val-Saint-François | Windsor | 71 | Route 249 – Windsor, Saint-Grégoire-de-Greenlay, Saint-François-Xavier |
Signed as exits 71N (north) and 71S (south) northbound |
| Melbourne | 85 |  Route 243 – Racine, Valcourt, Melbourne |
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| 88 |  Route 116 – Acton Vale, Richmond, Asbestos |
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| Ulverton | 98 | Chemin Mooney | ||
| Drummond | L'Avenir | 103 | Lefebvre, L'Avenir, Ulverton, Durham-Sud | |
| Drummondville | 111 | Route Caya | ||
| 116 |  Route 139 – Wickham, Acton Vale, Granby, Saint-Nicéphore |
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| 122 | Boulevard Jean-de-Brébeuf - Drummondville | |||
| 125 |  Route 122 – Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Drummondville |
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| 128 |  A-20 west – Montréal |
South end of A-20 overlap | ||
| See Autoroute 20 | ||||
| Nicolet-Yamaska | Sainte-Eulalie | 145 |   A-20 west / A-955 south / Route 161 – Québec, Saint-Valère |
Signed as exits 145-O (west) and 145-E (east) southbound / North end of A-20 overlap |
| Saint-Wenceslas | 153 | Saint-Léonard-d'Aston, Saint-Wenceslas | ||
| Saint-Célestin (Municipality) |  Route 226 – Saint-Célestin (Village) |
at-grade intersection | ||
| Bécancour | Bécancour | Chemin Prince | at-grade intersection | |
| Chemin Forest - Précieux-Sang, Quebec | at-grade intersection | |||
| Chemin Thibodeau | at-grade intersection | |||
 Route 132 – Saint-Grégoire, Nicolet, Wôlinak |
at-grade intersection | |||
| 176 |  A-30 / Route 132 – Bécancour, Sainte-Angèle |
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| Laviolette Bridge over the St. Lawrence River | ||||
| Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières | 181 |  Route 138 (Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Boulevard Gene-H.-Kruger) |
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| 182 |  A-40 east – Trois-Rivières, Québec |
South end of A-40 overlap | ||
| 183 | Boulevard Jean-XXIII | |||
| 186 | A-40 west / Boulevard des Forges – Montréal |
North end of A-40 overlap | ||
| 191 | Boulevard Industriel, Boulevard Saint-Michel | |||
| 196 | Boulevard des Forges - Saint-Thomas-de-Caxton | |||
| Maskinongé | Saint-Étienne-des-Grès | |||
| 202 | Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Saint-Barnabé | |||
| 206 | Saint-Boniface | |||
| Saint-Boniface | 211 |  Route 153 – Saint-Boniface, Shawinigan |
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| Shawinigan | Shawinigan | 216 | Rue Burrill | |
| 217 |  Route 351 (Rue Garnier) – Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc |
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| 220 | Boulevard Hubert-Biermans, Boulevard Vallée-du-Parc | |||
| 223 | 5e avenue, 25e rue | |||
| 226 | 8e rue, 4e rue | |||
Continues as  Route 155 |
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[edit] Resources
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