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

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, ...

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 ...

. 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 (, ) 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 ...

. The A-30 was originally intended to begin at the U.S. border near

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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 transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

by the

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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, down ...

to Route 116, which was then called Highway 9. The A-30 was extended to an interchange with Autoroute 10 in Brossard by 1985 and to Autoroute 15 in Candiac by 1996. Growing road congestion in and around

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 ...

led to the announcement in 2006 of a federal- provincial partnership to complete A-30 as southwestern bypass

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

. At that time, the section from Châteauguay to

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 and assigned new route numbers; for instance the old alignment of A-30 south of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield was renamed Autoroute 530. Opened to traffic on December 15, 2012, the realigned Autoroute 30 permits motorists travelling the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (eg

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) to bypass Montreal.http://a30express.com/categorie/8 Press Release (French)

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 Châteauguay 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 territory of

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...

and the South Shore communities of Saint-Constant, Delson, and Candiac. The Kahnawake bypass was built following the 1990 Oka Crisis 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. 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 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield 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 (, ; ) 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 ...

). 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 Hamburg, Manch ...

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— ...

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. Plans were proposed to connect this part to the main section, but it never happened.

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 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 ...

(via Ontario highways 401 and 417) and the

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(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 sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...

, in which the government contracted with

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

(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

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

via A-20 and

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

and eastern Ontario via Ontario Highway 417.

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