Autoroute 20 is a

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, ...

Autoroute, following the

Saint 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. Lawrenc ...

through one of the more densely populated parts of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, with its central section forming the main route 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 ...

from the A-25

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

to the A-85 interchange. At , it is the longest Autoroute in Quebec. It is one of two main links between

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

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 is the A-40. There are two sections of the A-20, separated by a gap. The main segment extends for from the

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

border to its current terminus at

Trois-Pistoles Trois-Pistoles () is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is also the county seat. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. A ferry crosses the rive ...

. The second, more northerly section is far shorter (), constructed as a

super two A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ri ...

autoroute (one lane in each direction), which bypasses

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

to the south and ends at a roundabout junction with Highway 132 in

Mont-Joli Mont-Joli () is a city in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is the county seat. The city is located east of Rimouski near the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. History In ...

. While the Quebec government has completed environmental and economic reviews of the impact of linking the two sections of Autoroute 20, it has not committed the funds necessary for construction. Citing the high number of accidents on the Rimouski-Mont-Joli link of the A-20, many politicians in the

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...

region have criticized the government's lack of progress in linking the two sections of autoroute and twinning the two-lane portion.

Description

Autoroute du Souvenir

Montérégie

A-20 begins at the

-Quebec border near

Rivière-Beaudette Rivière-Beaudette () is a municipality of Quebec, Canada, located in the southwest corner of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality on the border with Ontario along the St. Lawrence River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian ce ...

as the continuation of

Ontario 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 highway, controlled-access 400-series hig ...

. The westernmost section of A-20 was named the Autoroute du Souvenir (''Remembrance Highway'') in 2007 to honour Canadian

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

. Road marker signs on this stretch of the autoroute feature a

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

(a traditional symbol of Remembrance in Canada). At km 29, A-20 crosses A-30 (former A-540) before becoming an urban boulevard for approximately eight kilometres (km 30 to 38) in

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. ...

and

L'Île-Perrot The Town of Île-Perrot (French/official name: ''Ville de l'Île-Perrot'', ) is a town and municipality on Île Perrot in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 10,756. The town is at the western end of Lake ...

. This stretch of highway takes A-20 across the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

. The speed limit is 50 km/h (30 mph) in Vaudreuil-Dorion and 70 km/h (45 mph) in L'Île-Perrot. A-20 once again becomes a limited-access highway at km 38, just before crossing the

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal is a canal and set of Lock (water transport), locks linking Lake Saint-Louis and Lake of Two Mountains at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the very westernmost point of Island of Montrea ...

onto the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

Montreal region

A-20 then traverses the

West Island The West Island (, ) is the unofficial name given to the city, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Lachine (specific ...

(in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, ''l'Ouest de l'Île'') along the north shore of

Lac Saint-Louis Lake Saint-Louis (, ) is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence and Ottawa River, Ottawa rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake. Lake St. Louis is a widening of th ...

to an interchange with A-520. Commonly called the Dorval Interchange, this exit is the main access to Montreal's Trudeau International Airport. Further east, A-20 crosses the A-13 at its southern terminus, and then, at the St. Pierre Interchange, Route 138 west towards the Mercier Bridge. Just west of downtown

, A-20, A-15, and Route 136 meet 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 ...

. In 2020, the completion of a major project involving the rebuilding of the Turcot Interchange has shifted the autoroute north between Route 138 and the interchange. From there, A-20 east is

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— ...

with A-15 south on the approach to the Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge. This region is also the busiest section of the highway, with 145 000 cars on a daily average.

Longueuil

Multiplexed with

A-10 The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , 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 19 ...

and A-15, all three autoroutes cross the

via the Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge to

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

. The multiplex splits south of the bridge. The A-20 parallels the south shore of the river through suburban Longueuil. The junction with A-25 affords a direct connection to the

Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

and Montreal's East End. The

joins A-20 at this junction.

Autoroute Jean-Lesage

The longest section of A-20 (from its junction with A-25 to its easternmost terminus) is named after

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; June 10, 1912 – December 12, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often v ...

, who served as

Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( (masculine) or eminine is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following tha ...

from 1960 to 1966, during the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...

. Autoroute Jean-Lesage currently exists as two discontinuous sections separated by about 55 kilometres: * The main section between the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel and Trois-Pistoles in the

region. * A shorter section that serves as a bypass of

and extends east to a final terminus at Route 132 in

Main section

=Centre-du-Québec

= From the junction with A-25, A-20 travels east, away from the St. Lawrence River. At kilometre 98, A-20 intersects A-30 near

Boucherville Boucherville () is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and the Montreal Metropolitan ...

, crossing the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

(km 112) just north of

Mont-Saint-Hilaire Mont-Saint-Hilaire () is a suburb of Montreal on the South Shore of southeastern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 18,859. T ...

. Bypassing

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

, A-20 forms a multiplex with Route 116 for six kilometres between exits 141 and 147. This section of A-20 in Centre-du-Québec is located the furthest from the St. Lawrence River (approximately 45 kilometres). Between

Drummondville Drummondville () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville ...

and Sainte-Eulalie, A-20 forms a multiplex with A-55 for 37 kilometres.

=Quebec City region

= A-20 continues across the

Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, or simply St. Lawrence Lowlands, is a physiographic region of Eastern Canada that comprises a section of southern Ontario bounded on the north by the Canadian Shield and by three of the Great Lakes — Lake Hu ...

and Quebec's agricultural heartland. The autoroute once again parallels the river as it approaches metropolitan Quebec City. From this point eastward, A-20 is never more than five kilometres from the river. At km 312, A-20 crosses the A-73, a north–south link between Saint-Georges and

via the

Pierre Laporte Bridge The Pierre Laporte Bridge (French: Pont Pierre-Laporte) is the longest main span suspension bridge in Canada.Although Île d'Orléans Bridge is over 4 km in total length, its longest suspended span is 323 m and its total suspended len ...

. While the

control city A control city is a city, locality, or other location posted on a series of traffic signs along a particular stretch of road indicating destinations on that route. Together with route numbers and cardinal directions, these focal points aid the mo ...

on A-20 is listed as "Québec", the autoroute never enters the city proper. Before departing the region, the freeway bypasses suburban

Lévis Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre-Laporte Bridge, connect we ...

=Chaudière-Appalaches and Bas-Saint-Laurent

As it continues eastward, A-20 passes the regional centres of Montmagny and

La Pocatière La Pocatière () is a town in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, La Pocatière had a population of l ...

before approaching

Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...

and the junction with A-85 at km 499. The

departs A-20 at this interchange and travels southeast on A-85 toward

Edmundston Edmundston () is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1850, it had a population of 16,437 as of 2021. On January 1, 2023, Edmundston amalgamated with the village of Rivière-Verte, New Brunswick, Rivière-Verte and ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and the

Maritime Provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

. At km 518, the highway becomes a

for the remainder of its main section. The eastern end of the main section of the A-20 is located in

, approximately 40 kilometres east of Rivière-du-Loup.

Rimouski section

The second section of Autoroute Jean-Lesage (km 597 to km 641) connects

. It begins at a junction with Route 132 in

, approximately 55 km from the current terminus of A-20's main section. Like its larger counterpart, the Rimouski section of A-20 parallels the St. Lawrence, providing a southern bypass of Rimouski before ending (at another junction with Route 132) at the western approach to Mont-Joli. This section of the A-20 is currently a

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation, central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of ...

with occasional

passing lane A passing lane (North American English), overtaking lane (English outside North America) is a lane on a multi-lane highway or motorway closest to the median of the road (the central reservation) used for passing vehicles in other lanes. (North Ame ...

s. It was built to accommodate an eventual expansion to four lanes and most overpasses include the clearance needed to accommodate the additional lanes. The high accident rate along this section of A-20 have prompted many politicians to call for the highway to be expanded to two lanes in each direction. An electric fence has been installed on both sides of the highway between km 621 and 628 to prevent

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

from crossing the road, while at km 624 an underpass has been constructed to allow wildlife to pass under the highway safely.

Future

Transports Québec Le Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité Durable du Québec (), known by its short form name Transports Québec or alternatively by the acronym MTQ, is a Quebec government ministry (government department), ministry responsible for transpor ...

(MTQ) is currently engaged in several projects designed to connect the two segments of A-20. Long-range plans by the MTQ call for the two sections of A-20 to meet. A 9.8 km section of single carriageway was opened to traffic on December 3, 2011 between

Cacouna Cacouna () is a municipality in the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River along Route 132. The municipality of Cacouna w ...

and

L'Isle-Verte L'Isle-Verte () is a small municipality located along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, in the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Quebec, Canada. The name of the village refers to '' Île Ver ...

. As part of this project, a few kilometres of the highway near Cacouna was moved 1.5 km to the south and the old roadbed was destroyed. The MTQ timeline for completing the highway to Trois-Pistoles was met; it opened to traffic in November 2015. Overpasses were constructed for the St-Paul, St-Éloi and Drapeau roads. Regarding the section from

, the Quebec government has completed environmental and economic reviews of the impact of linking the two sections of Autoroute 20, but it has not committed the funds necessary for construction. Frustrated by the long delay in linking the two sections of A-20, in 2013, the Mayor of Rimouski proposed paying for the construction by tolling the autoroute. Citing predictions for an increase in ferry traffic to and from the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

as a result of the Government of Quebec's Plan Nord, in 2011 the Mayor of

Matane Matane () is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itse ...

called for the further extension of A-20 to his city.

Popular culture

Autoroute 20 serves as the backdrop to the popular 2002 Quebec film ''Québec-Montréal'' by

Ricardo Trogi Ricardo Trogi (born March 25, 1970) is a Canadians, Canadian filmmaker, director and actor. Career Trogi was born in Quebec City, Quebec. He began his filmmaking career as a contestant in the 1994-95 edition of ''La Course destination monde'', ty ...

about seven twenty-something travellers driving between the two cities. The

Quebec French Quebec French ( ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety (linguistics), variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in education, ...

expression "à l'autre bout de la 20" (in English, ''at the other end of the 20'') refers to Montreal when the speaker is in Quebec City, and to Quebec City when one is in Montreal.

Other names

Older

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Montrealers sometimes still refer to the section of the A-20 west of the city as Highway 2-20 (or "The Two and Twenty"), but the Route 2 designation was dropped in the mid 1970s.

Exit list

Rest stops

Other than the Rivière-Beaudette Rest Area, the remaining rest areas along A-20 are not full service and simple places for motorists and truckers to rest. All (except one) have washrooms and a

payphone A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone or public phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or tel ...

, A few are seasonal only. There are 15 rest stops located at the following points along Autoroute 20, and contain the following services:

Gallery

A-20 eastbound File:14th-ave-east.jpg, former 14th Ave. exit, Montréal, 2005 File:20-138-merge-east.jpg, Merge with 138, Montréal, 2005 File:Turcot-yards-east.jpg, Turcot yards, 2005 File:Autoroute20E km311.jpg, Autoroute 20 eastbound, km 311 near Pierre-Laporte Bridges in Lévis, Québec A-20 westbound File:A20Ouest km59.jpg, Autoroute 20 west, ~km59 on Montreal Island File:A20Ouest km5.jpg, Autoroute 20 east, near Rivière Beaudette, ~km 5 File:Quebec Autoroute 30 - Autoroute 20 WB (1).jpg, A-30 at A-20 westbound File:A20Ouest km29.jpg, Autoroute 20 west, exit 29.

Notes

References

External links

A-20 at motorways-exits.com

Transports Quebec Map

Veteran from Gaspé behind idea to rename Quebec highway to remember war dead

{{Authority control 20 Quebec 020 1964 establishments in Quebec