Route 117, the Trans Canada Highway Northern Route, is a provincial highway within the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, running between

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and the Quebec/

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

border where it continues as Highway 66 east of

McGarry, Ontario McGarry is an incorporated township in Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It includes the communities of Virginiatown, North Virginiatown, and Kearns. The township borders with Quebec to the east, along Highway 66 between ...

. It is an important road since it is the only direct route between southern Quebec and the

Abitibi-Témiscamingue Abitibi-Témiscamingue () is an administrative region located in western Québec, Canada, along the border with Ontario. It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of and its population was 146,717 people as of the 2016 Census. ...

region. Route 117 was formerly Route 11 and ran from Montreal north towards

Mont-Laurier Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (''Rivière du Lièvre''), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto ...

and then followed the

Gatineau River The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drains a ...

south towards

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

. This routing is joined with Autoroute 15 from Montreal northwards towards

Mont Tremblant Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa� ...

. Route 117 also takes in the former Quebec Routes 58 and 59. Along with Autoroute 15 to

Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Sa ...

, it is also listed as a branch of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (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 Atlantic Ocean on ...

Ontario Highway 17 King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba boundary, west of Kenora, and the ma ...

is also a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway but is an unrelated route that parallels it by about 200 km.

Route description

This description of Route 117 follows it from southeast to northwest. Route 117 starts in Montreal at the Decarie Interchange where Autoroute 40 and Autoroute 15 (Decarie Expressway) meet. Montrealers sometimes unofficially extend Route 117 along the portion of

Decarie Boulevard Autoroute 15 (also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) between the Turcot and Décarie Interchanges in Montreal and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autorout ...

that runs parallel to the Decarie Expressway. From the Decarie Interchange, Route 117 goes north on Marcel-Laurin Boulevard to Keller Boulevard. It continues from Laurentian Boulevard to Keller Boulevard, southbound only, or on Lachapelle Street from Keller Boulevard, northbound only, and crosses the

Rivière des Prairies The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...

over the Lachapelle Bridge to Île Jésus. It continues through the Laval neighborhoods of Chomedey,

Fabreville Fabreville is a district in Laval, Quebec. It was a separate city until the municipal mergers on August 6, 1965. Geography Fabreville is delimited north-west by the Rivière des Mille-Îles, north-east by Sainte-Rose, south-east by Chomedey, ...

and Sainte-Rose, northbound as Boulevard Curé-Labelle, Boulevard Chomedey at the former

Chenoy's Chenoy's (french: Chenoys) is a Jewish delicatessen and restaurant that first opened in Montreal, Quebec, in 1936. Its original claim to fame was offering the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich. Chenoy's first opened in the old Jewish neighb ...

deli, left turn at Boulevard Cartier and back into Boulevard Curé-Labelle, southbound as Boulevard Curé-Labelle. At the

Rivière des Mille Îles The Rivière des Mille Îles (, "Thousand Islands River") is a channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada and runs into the Rivière des Prairies. It is long. It divides Île Jésus (the city of Laval) from the North Shore, ...

, it crosses over the Marius Dufresne Bridge to the "

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

" (of the

). Then, Route 117 runs parallel to Autoroute 15 until

and goes through the

Laurentian mountains The Laurentian Mountains (French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurent ...

. Towns along the route in this section include: * Rosemère * Sainte-Thérèse * Blainville * Mirabel * Saint-Jérôme * Prévost *

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

* Sainte-Adèle *

Val Morin Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a So ...

* Val-David *

After Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Route 117 continues as a four-lane divided highway and winds its way through Laurentides Regional County Municipality until it reaches the town of Labelle. From then on to the Ontario border, Route 117 is mostly a standard two-lane highway. In

Grand-Remous Grand-Remous is a town and municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The municipality is south of the Baskatong Reservoir, spanning both sides of the Gatineau River. The town is situated at the interse ...

, Route 117 crosses the

and intersects with Route 105, which goes southwest to

Maniwaki Maniwaki is a town located north of Gatineau and north-west of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The town is situated on the Gatineau River, at the crossroads of Route 105 and Route 107, not far south of Route 117 (Trans-Canada Highwa ...

and

. Towns along the route in this section include: *

Mont-Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

Mont-Tremblant Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for it ...

* La Conception * Labelle * Rivière-Rouge *

Lac-Saguay Lac-Saguay is a village municipality in Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. Its economy is centred on tourism, outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing. The municipality is named after the a ...

* Lac-des-Écorces *

From Grand-Remous, the route heads north for some 220 km through undeveloped wilderness, most of which is part of

La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is one of the largest reserves in the province of Quebec, Canada, covering of contiguous land and lake area (Assinica wildlife reserve is the largest in the province, but its territory is broken up in four non-cont ...

. While the reserve is popular for a variety of outdoor activities, services along the road are sparse. This section is often considered one of the most dangerous routes in the province because of numerous fatal accidents, some involving

tractor-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...

s. During the winter, the route is often extremely slippery, even during dry and clear days. The few communities along this section are: * Réservoir-Dozois *

Val-d'Or Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlif ...

After the intersection with Route 113, which continues north to Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Route 117 heads west to Ontario where it becomes Highway 66. The section between Rouyn-Noranda and Arntfield runs concurrent with

Route 101 Route 101 or Highway 101 can refer to multiple roads: International * European route E101 Argentina * National Route 101 Australia * Southern Ports Highway * Princes Highway (East) Brazil * BR-101 Canada * British Columbia Highway 101 ...

. Towns along the route in this section include: *

* Malartic *

Rivière-Héva Rivière-Héva is a municipality in northwestern Quebec, Canada in the La Vallée-de-l'Or Regional County Municipality. It is named after the Héva River that flows through the municipality. History In 1935 as part of the Vautrin Settlement Plan ...

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census d ...

References

External links

Interactive Provincial Route Map (Transports Québec)
{{Streets in Montreal

117 117 may refer to: *117 (number) *AD 117 *117 BC *117 (emergency telephone number) *117 (MBTA bus) * 117 (TFL bus) *117 (New Jersey bus) *''117°'', a 1998 album by Izzy Stradlin *No. 117 (SPARTAN-II soldier ID), personal name John, the Master Chief ...

Quebec 117 Roads in Laval, Quebec Roads in Montreal Transport in Rouyn-Noranda Roads in Abitibi-Témiscamingue Roads in Laurentides

Route description

See also

References

External links