Autoroute 10 (A-10) is an Autoroute of Quebec in

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that links greater

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 ...

to key population centres in Montérégie and Estrie, including Brossard,

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is sit ...

, Granby,

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

and Saint-Georges (possible). The A-10 also provides access to popular winter resorts at Bromont, Owl's Head, Mont Sutton and Mont Orford. Motorists travelling on the A-10 can see eight of nine Monteregian Hills:

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, Mont Saint-Bruno, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Mont Saint-Grégoire, Mont Rougemont, Mont Yamaska, Mont Shefford and Mont Brome. The ninth, Mont Mégantic is located beyond the eastern terminus of the autoroute.

Description

The A-10 carries the name Autoroute

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(''

Expressway'') from its start in Montreal's city centre to the Champlain Bridge. From there until its terminus in Sherbrooke, the A-10 is called the Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est ( Eastern Townships Expressway), a reference to the historic name given to the region east of Montreal and north of the U.S. border. The road's main material is

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, many parts of the highway are bordered with

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Autoroute Bonaventure

The autoroute begins in

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as an extension of Robert-Bourassa Boulevard near Place Bonaventure. Two underground ramps provide an interchange with the R-136, the Ville-Marie Autoroute. At km 1, the highway crosses the

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. At km 2, it crosses under, but does not provide access to, Route 112 at the north end of Victoria Bridge. From there, the higwhay travels along the

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to an interchange with A-15 and A-20. This interchange is partially on the

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and partially on Nuns' Island. A-10 is multiplexed with the A-15 and A-20 across the Champlain Bridge. All three autoroutes diverge soon after reaching the southern edge of the bridge. The autoroute serves as an important link for commuters travelling to downtown Montreal from suburban South Shore communities via the Champlain Bridge. It also provides access to the Montreal Technoparc and the Concordia Bridge. Within the city limits of Montreal the autoroute is jointly owned by the city of Montreal, Ponts Jacques Cartier et Champlain Incorporée (PJCCI), a federal

crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

that owns and operates the three major highway bridges over the Saint Lawrence River to the south of Montréal. Autoroute 10 is at least two lanes in each direction for the majority of its length and the speed limit is usually 100 km/h.

Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est

At km 8, the A-10 crosses Taschereau Boulevard.

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s run in both directions along the median for four kilometers between the southern end of the Champlain Bridge and Milan Boulevard. Crossing Brossard, the A-10 runs along the northern edge of the Quartier DIX30 shopping complex before reaching interchanges with the A-30 at km 11 and the A-35 at km 22. The A-10 crosses the Richelieu River at km 28 and enters a rich agricultural region. Between Bromont (km 74) and Magog (km 121) the A-10 passes through a mountainous region, close to two of Quebec's major ski centres (Mont Orford and Mont Brome). Near the northern end of Lake Memphremagog, the A-10 reaches an interchange with the A-55 at km 121. The A-10 continues east as a concurrency with A-55. Between km 123 and 128, Route 112 functions as a frontage road. A-10 and A-55 bypass the city of Sherbrooke to the east and north, reaching interchanges with spur routes A-410 at km 140 and A-610 at km 143. The A-10 reaches its terminus at the junction with A-610, while A-55 continues north to

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 ...

. The portion east of Autoroute 55 (linking that autoroute with Route 112) was renumbered as Autoroute 610 on September 29, 2006

History

The long Autoroute de l'Est (''Eastern Expressway'') was opened to traffic in December 1964. Extending from the southern end of the Champlain Bridge to Magog, the highway replaced the old Quebec Route 1 (now Route 112) as the main road link between the two points. An official opening for the highway came one year later, in 1965. The A-10 was the second autoroute, after the Quebec Autoroute 15, Laurentian Autoroute outside Montreal, to be commissioned. Both were opened as toll highways by a Quebec government agency. The A-10 featured five toll stations (at current km 22, km 37, km 68, km 90, and km 115). Motorists were charged $1.50 to make the entire trip. The Autoroute Bonaventure through Montreal opened in 1967 to link approach roads to

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with the Champlain Bridge. The Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est was the first autoroute in Quebec to use exit numbers based on distance instead of in sequential order, as had previously been the case. As Canada had not yet adopted the

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, exit numbers referenced the distance in miles from the southern end of the Champlain Bridge. The A-10 did not originally have a route number. Instead, route marker signs featured a red triangular

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featuring the name of the route. Unusually, the directional signs were also originally red. Later, blue shields and signs replaced the red versions. In 1985, the toll system was abolished, and the use of the triangular shields was discontinued. Blue directional signs have gradually been converted to standard green signs used elsewhere in

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. In 2013, motorists could still see blue signs at entrances to and exits of the autoroute. Between 1988 and 2006, A-10 departed its multiplex with A-55 at km 143 and continued eastward for 11 km to a final terminus with Route 112. In October 2006, that section of A-10 was renumbered as A-610. The city of Montreal announced in January 2013 that it would take over the SHM's responsibilities, citing concerns over transparency. The Société du Havre de Montréal (SHM) transformed the autoroute into an urban thoroughfare as part of a broader project to redevelop Montreal's harbourfront. Demolition of the autoroute’s elevated stretch began in July 2016 and the new Bonaventure Park was completed in September 2017.

Proposal

A proposal to build the East-West Highway across central and northern

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calls for the A-10 to be extended to the U.S. border at Coburn Gore where it would meet the new highway. Doing so would create a new and more direct limited-access highway link between Maine, 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 ...

through New Brunswick Route 1, and Quebec. Another proposal is to extend the A-10 to A-73 Saint-Georges with a crossing of A-65 in Lambton according to the 1971 plans.

References

External links

A-10 at motorways-exits.comSteve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Bonaventure Autoroute (A-10)Steve Anderson's MontrealRoads.com: Eastern Townships Autoroute (A-10)Transports Quebec Map

{{Quebec Autoroutes 10 Roads in Montreal Transport in Brossard Transport in Granby, Quebec Transport in Magog, Quebec Transport in Sherbrooke Former toll roads in Canada