Quebec Autoroute 31

Autoroute 31
Autoroute Antonio-Barrette
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length:	14.0 km[1][2] (8.7 mi)
Existed:	1966[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	Autoroute 40 in Lavaltrie
North end:	Route 158 in Joliette
Location
Major cities:	Lavaltrie, Joliette
Highway system
Quebec provincial highways ← A-30 A-35 →

Autoroute 31 (A-31) is an Autoroute in the region of Lanaudière in Quebec. Constructed in 1966, the A-31 primarily links Joliette with the A-40 and in turn to Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and other points served by Quebec's autoroute system. The A-31 is only 14 km (8.7 mi) long, making it one of the shortest autoroutes in the province. It is multiplexed with Route 131 for its entire length.

The A-31 also carries the name Autoroute Antonio-Barrette, named for a politician from Joliette who briefly served as Premier of Quebec in 1960.

Description

The A-31 begins just south of its interchange with A-40 in Lavaltrie. Motorists exiting the A-40 can opt to travel north on A-31 (multiplexed with Route 131) or south on Route 131 to Lavaltrie's city centre. The A-31/A-40 interchange has an unusual configuration, built to accommodate tollbooths (since dismantled). Also unusual for a Quebec autoroute: agricultural vehicles like tractors are permitted to cross over the A-40 by travelling on A-31 from its southern terminus to exit 2. For this reason, an automated traffic regulation system (commissioned in 2009) lowers the speed limit automatically from 100/60 km/h to 90/30 km/h as needed.

Exits at km 2 and km 7 provide access to local roads, while a partial interchange at km 12 serves an industrial zone south of Joliette.

The A-31 ends at km 15 at a cloverleaf interchange with Route 158. Plans for Quebec's autoroute system initially called for A-31 to meet the A-50 at this interchange. Anticipating this outcome, Route 158 in the immediate vicinity of the interchange was constructed as a limited-access highway and signed as A-50. Once plans to extend the A-50 east of the A-15 were abandoned in the 1980s, this stretch of highway was redesignated Route 158. A series of deadly accidents on Route 158 prompted a 2014 petition drive to reconstruct the highway to Autoroute standards and return the designation of A-50.^[3]

Motorists exiting the A-31 at km 15 may continue on Route 158 west to St-Esprit, Route 158 east to Berthierville, or Route 131 north to Saint-Félix-de-Valois. Past this interchange, A-31 ends and becomes Boulevard Dollard, which continues into downtown Joliette.

Exit list

Region	Location	km	mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Continues as Route 131 to Lavaltrie
D'Autray	Lavaltrie			0	A-40 east – Quebec City	at-grade intersection, South end of Route 131 overlap
				1	A-40 west / Rang Saint-François – Montreal
		1	0.62	2	Rang Saint-Henri, Rang du Point-du-Jour
Joliette	Saint-Thomas	7	4.3	7	Saint-Thomas, Saint-Paul
	Joliette	13	8.1	14-E	Route 131 north / Route 158 east – Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Berthierville	North end of Route 131 overlap
				14-O	Route 158 west – Saint-Jérôme
Continues as Boulevard Dollard to Downtown Joliette
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
2. "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
3. Ferland, Mathieu (24 July 2014). "Une pétition circule pour modifier la route 158". Le Journal de Joliette (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2016.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• A-31 at Exitlists.com
• A-31 at Quebec Autoroutes
• Transports Quebec Map (French)