Autoroute 85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route Transcanadienne | ||||
| Autoroute Claude-Béchard | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Transports Québec | ||||
| Length | 77 km[1][2] (48 mi) | |||
| Existed | 2002[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Route 2 (TCH) near Moulin-Morneault, NB | |||
 R-232 in Témiscouata-sur-le-LacRue Fraserville, Rivière-du-Loup | ||||
| North end |   A-20 (TCH) in Notre-Dame-du-Portage | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Canada | |||
| Province | Quebec | |||
| Major cities | Rivière-du-Loup, Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, Saint-Antonin, Dégelis, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Autoroute 85 is a Quebec Autoroute and the route of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province's Bas-Saint-Laurent region, also known as Autoroute Claude-Béchard. It is currently under construction with committed Federal and Provincial funding for its completion, with an estimated completion date of 2026.[3] Once this upgrade is completed, it will close the last gap in the nearly continuous freeway section of the Trans-Canada between Arnprior, Ontario, and Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and for an even longer interprovincial freeway route between Windsor, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Running between Rivière-du-Loup (at a junction with Autoroute 20) and a junction with New Brunswick Route 2 at the Quebec-New Brunswick border, A-85 when complete will be the only controlled access highway link between the Maritime Provinces and the rest of the country. A-85 is projected to be approximately 100 km (60 mi) long when construction is complete and is intended to replace Route 185, which has been called one of the deadliest highways in Canada.[4]
Currently there are two completed sections of A-85. The first section runs from Saint-Antonin (km 87) to a junction with the A-20 at Notre-Dame-du-Portage (km 100). Originally signed as Route 185 when built, it was designed as A-85 in 2005 following extensive rehabilitation. The second, newer section extends from the New Brunswick border (km 0) to Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (km 48). Construction began in 2002 in the vicinity of Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac and it was completed in 2016. The government of Quebec is currently building the final section from Saint-Antonin to Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
- ^ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
- ^ a b "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ "Autoroute Claude-Béchard (85) - Réaménagement de la route 185 en autoroute". Archived from the original on 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ^ Lessard, Denis (13 September 2010). "L'autoroute Claude-Béchard: comme si c'était fait". La Presse. La Presse (Montreal). Retrieved 22 January 2015.