Autoroute 85 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 and the 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 ...

in the province's

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, also known as Autoroute Claude-Béchard. It is currently under construction with committed Federal and Provincial funding for its completion, with an projected completion date of 2026. Once this upgrade is completed, it will close the last gap in the nearly continuous freeway section of the Trans-Canada between

Arnprior, Ontario Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Arnprior has experienced significant growth in populations with the widening of the Ontario Highway 417 to four lanes. The town experienced an increase in population by 8.4% from 2011 to 2 ...

, and

Antigonish, Nova Scotia Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Halif ...

, and for an even longer interprovincial freeway route between

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

and

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. Running between

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 ...

(at a junction with Autoroute 20) and a junction with

New Brunswick Route 2 Route 2 is a major state highway, provincial highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick, carrying the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The highway connects with Autoroute 85 (Quebe ...

at the Quebec-

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 ...

border, A-85 when complete will be the only

controlled access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

link between 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 ...

and the rest of the country. A-85 is projected to be approximately long when construction is complete and will replace Route 185, which has been called one of the deadliest highways in Canada. Currently there are two completed sections of A-85. The northern section runs from south of

Saint-Honoré-de-Témiscouata Saint-Honoré-de-Témiscouata (; Canada 2021 Census population 763) is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in the region of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. Demographics Population Population trend:Statistics Canada: Canada 1996 Census, 199 ...

(km 57) to a junction with the A-20 at

Notre-Dame-du-Portage Notre-Dame-du-Portage () is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec located at the edge of the Saint Lawrence River in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. It is part of the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and home to the Rivier ...

(km 100). Originally signed as Route 185 when built, it was designed as A-85 in 2005 following extensive rehabilitation. The southern section extends from the New Brunswick border (km 0) to north of

Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! () is a Classification of municipalities in Quebec, parish municipality in the Témiscouata Regional County Municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. The population is 1,311 as of 2021. Its economy is mainly a ...

(km 50). Construction began in 2002 in the vicinity of

Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac (, ) is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, situated in the MRC of Témiscouata in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The city was created on May 5, 2010, from the mergers of the city of Cabano and Notre-Dame-du-Lac. The new ...

and it was completed in 2016. The government of Quebec is currently building the final section to Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Route description

Southern segment

A-85 begins at the Quebec-New Brunswick border as the continuation of New Brunswick Route 2 and the Trans-Canada Highway. In 2010, the Quebec government announced that A-85 would be named for Claude Béchard, a longtime Member of the National Assembly from Bas-Saint-Laurent. From the New Brunswick border, A-85 briefly parallels the main runway of the Edmundston Airport, which straddles the interprovincial border. The freeway travels in a northwesterly direction, following the course of the Madawaska River. The autoroute passes

Dégelis Dégelis () is a city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 2,884. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join ...

to the west with exits at km 12, km 14, and km 15. Briefly skirting the south shore of

Lake Témiscouata Lake Témiscouata () is a lake in the Témiscouata region of southeastern Quebec, Canada. It is 40 km long, with a total area of 66 km2. The Madawaska River flows from this lake to the Saint John River. The cities of Témiscouata-sur- ...

, A-85 passes through

, with exits at km 29, km 37, and km 40, providing access to

Lac-Témiscouata National Park Lac-Témiscouata National Park (, ) is a provincial park located in Quebec, Canada south of the Saint Lawrence River, near the border with New Brunswick. It contains Lake Témiscouata, which is "the second-largest lake south of the Saint Lawrence ...

. Past Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (km 50), the controlled-access highway ends and the highway resumes its designation as Route 185.

Northern segment

The second section of A-85 begins in

, 3 kilometres south of its junction with Route 291 (itself at km 60), then proceeds through the Appalachian Hills, by either following its predecessor's alignment or following a new routing, leaving the former Route 185 as a local road serving residents and businesses in the area. Exit 93 provides access to Route 191 which bypasses Rivière-du-Loup to the south and provides the most direct route (and an effective go-around transit route for commercial heavy vehicle traffic) for motorists bound for

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 ...

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 ...

, and Gaspésie via eastbound A-20. After one last exit at Fraserville Road (km 96), the A-85 merges with westbound A-20 at 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 ...

. Westbound A-20 assumes the Trans-Canada Highway designation, continuing on to

Québec City Quebec City is the capital city of the 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 population of 839,311. It is the twelfth -lar ...

and

Montréal 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 ...

, then to Windsor 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 ...

, or

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 ...

via the A-40 and

Ontario Highway 417 King's Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and as the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Ottawa with Montreal via Quebec Autoroute 4 ...

History

The first section of A-85 that was built stretched from km 94 in

to A-20 at km 100. This section opened in 1972 as Route 185. In 2002, a bypass of Notre-Dame-du-Lac was built, then in 2004, a bypass of

was constructed. In 2005, the initial segment saw an extension south to km 88 in Saint-Antonin. The freeway was officially signed as A-85 from km 88 to km 100 in anticipation of the conversion of Route 185. In 2009, bypasses of

Cabano Cabano is a former city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is situated on Lake Témiscouata on Autoroute 85. On May 5, 2010, it merged with Notre-Dame-du-Lac to form the new ci ...

and

opened, and in 2011, those bypasses were connected. In 2013, the bypass of Dégelis was extended both ways, with the new freeway stretching from km 8 to km 22. It would be extended further south and tied into

in 2014. Also in 2014, the Notre-Dame-du-Lac and Cabano bypasses were connected, and then in 2015, the freeway was extended to km 48. In 2021 and 2022, the initial segment saw further extension south, with the new freeway stretching from km 76 to km 100. Another separate segment was constructed between km 56 and km 62. By October 2024 the section between km 62 and 76 was completed and opened. The entire freeway will be connected by mid-2026.

Exit list

References

External links

Transport Quebec websiteTransports Quebec Map

{{Quebec Autoroutes 85 Quebec 085 Roads in Bas-Saint-Laurent Transport in Rivière-du-Loup