Antonio Barrette Autoroute (A-31)

This 2011 photo shows the northbound Antonio Barrette Autoroute (A-31 / QC 131) approaching EXIT 14 (QC 158) in Joliette. Until the mid-1980s, A-50 was proposed to meet A-31 at this interchange. (Photo by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

Length:
Constructed:

14.3 kilometers (8.9 miles)
1964-1967

PLANNED SINCE THE 1950s: As early as 1959, Louis-Joseph Pigeon, who represented the Joliette-L'Assomption-Montcalm riding in Canada's House of Commons, advocated for a Montreal-to-Joliette highway at the suggestion of local businessmen and civic organizations. The proposed highway was part of a plan, which included construction of a municipal airport, to develop the Joliette area and help diversify its industrial base.

In 1961, local leaders petitioned Premier Jean Lesage to have a freeway spur connecting to the proposed North Shore Autoroute (today's A-40 / Felix Leclerc Autoroute), and that it be included in the initial construction of the Montreal-to-Trois Rivieres segment. In his 1962 budget speech, Lesage said that studies were underway to build the North Shore Autoroute, adding that "a first step in the construction of a modern highway has been taken." Finally, in 1964, Lesage and Guy Poliquin, the President of Autoroutes du Quebec - the provincial agency responsible for building, financing, and operating toll roads - formally announced plans for the initial stretch of the North Shore Autoroute from Montreal to Berthierville. Included in plans was construction of a toll-free freeway connection from the North Shore Autoroute north to Joliette, which became known as the Joliette Autoroute.

PART OF THE EXPO 67 CONSTRUCTION RUSH: Construction of the Joliette Autoroute began in 1964. The Joliette Autoroute, which was designated A-31 in 1966, was part of a province-wide push to complete freeways in advance of Expo 67 in Montreal by the spring of 1967.

The autoroute, which was designed with two carriageways each accommodating two lanes, was built primarily through farmland and forested land, which reduced construction and minimized area opposition.

For the first eight kilometers (five miles) from A-40 in Lavaltrie to Saint-Thomas, A-31 was built with a grassy median. The two roadways diverge for the next five kilometers (three miles), separated by a forested median. For the final stretch of A-31, the landscaped median transitions into concrete "Jersey" barrier. 

The southern terminus at EXIT 1 (A-40) has an unusual configuration at which A-31 transitions into QC 131, a two-lane local road which extends south to QC 138 in downtown Lavaltrie. Extended loop ramps to and from A-40 were built to accommodate a toll plaza, which was eliminated in 1985. Just south of the northern terminus in Joliette, EXIT 14 (QC 158) was built for an easterly extension of A-50 towards Saint-Felix-de-Valois. (A-50 was actually signed on QC 158 for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but these signs were removed when the A-50 extension was canceled.) A-31 ends at Calixa Lavalee Street in Joliette, at which point the autoroute transitions into Dollard Boulevard.

A-31 was substantially completed by 1966, but did not fully open to traffic until 1967, when the initial section of the North Shore Autoroute (A-40) was opened to traffic. It is signed with QC 131 along its entire length. In 1999, A-31 was renamed the "Antonio Barrette Autoroute" in honor of the one-time Quebec premier.

CHANGES FOR INTERCHANGES: Over the years, the Ministere des Transports du Quebec (MTQ) has made the following interchange improvements on A-31:

  • In 1995, the MTQ opened a new grade-separated interchange at EXIT 7 (Rang Saint-Charles) in Saint-Thomas at a cost of C$2 million. The new diamond interchange replaced an at-grade intersection with left-turn lanes on A-31 and movements from Rang Saint-Charles governed by stop signs.

  • In 2008, the MTQ built new northbound exit and entrance ramps at EXIT 12 (Ernest Harnois Street) in Joliette to improve access to an industrial area, as well as relieve congestion on QC 158.

  • In 2013, the MTQ converted the signalized intersection at the Dollard Boulevard / Calixa Lavalee Street terminus in Joliette with a European-designed "turbo-roundabout" at a cost of C$2.7 million. Unlike a conventional two-lane roundabout, which requires dangerous lane changes on the inside, through traffic entering the turbo-roundabout through the inside (left) lane with automatically will be diverted to the outside lane, eliminating the need for lane changes. (Motorists seeking to make a right-angle turn would use the outside lane and leave the turbo-roundabout at the next roadway movement.) According to Francois Pepin, the city's general manager, the turbo-roundabout was designed to reduce the number of potential conflict zones in half compared to a traditional roundabout.

According to the MTQ, A-31 accommodates approximately 27,000 vehicles per day, representing a doubling of traffic since the early 1990s.

(SLOWING) DOWN ON THE FARM: Although A-31 is designed to freeway standards, farm machinery is permitted on the southernmost two kilometers (1.2 miles) of the freeway. The province granted this allowance to allow farm equipment to cross over A-40 safely; the A-31 / QC 131 overpass is the only crossing of A-40 over a 16-kilomter (10-mile) distance. For years, the MTQ posted a fixed maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (56 MPH), and a fixed minimum of 30 km/h (18 MPH). In 2008, the MTQ installed a new farm machinery detection system with electronic variable speed limit signs. These speed limit signs, which have a default of 100 km/h (62 MPH) maximum and 60 km/h (37 MPH) minimum, adjust automatically to 80 km/h (50 MPH) maximum and 30 km/h (18 MPH) minimum when a farm vehicle is detected.

This 2011 photo shows the southbound Antonio Barrette Autoroute (A-31 / QC 131) approaching EXIT 1 (A-40 / Felix Leclerc Autoroute) in Lavaltrie. From EXIT 1 north to EXIT 2 (Rang Saint-Henri), slow-moving farm vehicles are permitted to use A-31. In 2008, the MTQ installed electronic variable speed limit signs that reduce speed limits whenever farm vehicles are detected. (Photo by Scott Steeves, www.asphaltplanet.ca.)

IMPROVED AUTOROUTE-TO-AUTOROUTE CONNECTIONS: The southern terminus at EXIT 1 (A-40 / Felix Leclerc Autoroute) should be significantly rebuilt to provide improved freeway-to-freeway connections at or near highway speeds. Such reconstruction should include a new overpass over A-40 for local traffic west of the A-31 / A-40 interchange to better accommodate farm vehicles, thus removing a potential safety hazard. The MTQ plans to rebuild the A-31 overpass over A-40 in a C$10 million project over 2026 and 2027, though it did not provide specifics on any interchange redesign.

Near the northern terminus, the existing cloverleaf interchange at EXIT 14 (QC 158) should be studied for possible improvements, particularly if the MTQ revives long-abandoned plans to extend A-50 (Guy Lafleur Autoroute) east from Mirabel to Joliette.

AN EXPANDED EXIT 12: The MTQ should consider extending Edouard Gohier Street west over A-31 to provide expanded industrial park access to and from southbound A-31. There already exists a slip ramp entering southbound A-31 at this location, though it appears to provide access only to the Hydro-Quebec property.

SOURCES: "Pigeon Suggests That Joliette Have an Airport" by Xavier DeLusigny, L'Etoile du Nord (5/20/1959); "Magog-Omsrville to Rock Island Autoroute Planned," Sherbrooke Daily Record (4/25/1964); "Debats de l'Assemblee Legislative du Quebec," Assemblee Nationale du Quebec (March 1965); Etude d' Opportunite de l'Amelioration de la Route 131 au Nord de Joliette et Examen du Concept d'Amenagement du Contournement sud de Joliette, Ministere des Transports du Quebec (1983); Amenagement de l'Echangeur: Autoroute 31, Rang Saint-Charles, Etude d'Impact, Ministere des Transports du Quebec (1991); "A Turbo-Roundabout for Joliette" by Rejean Turgeon, Journal l'Action (6/14/2013); "More than $264 Million for Transportation in Lanaudiere" by Melissa Blouin, La Revue (5/22/2025); Ville de Lavaltrie; Richard Dupuis; Scott Steeves.

  • A-31 and QC 131 shields by Wikipedia.
  • Lightpost photo by Douglas Kerr.
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ANTONIO BARRETTE AUTOROUTE LINKS:

ANTONIO BARRETTE AUTOROUTE CURENT CONDITIONS:

ANTONIO BARRETTE AUTOROUTE VIDEO LINK:

THE EXITS OF METRO MONTREAL:

  • Autoroute 31 exit list (coming soon)

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