Quebec Autoroute 73

Autoroute 73
Autoroute Robert-Cliche Autoroute Laurentienne Autoroute Henri-IV
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length:	116 km (72.1 mi)
Existed:	1963 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Beauceville, Quebec
	A-20, Route 132 in Lévis (Saint-Nicolas) Route 138, A-40, A-440, A-540 in Quebec City (Sainte-Foy) A-573 in L'Ancienne-Lorette A-740, Route 175 in Quebec City (Charlesbourg)
North end:	Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec
Location
Major cities:	Lévis, Quebec City, Saint-Georges, Sainte-Marie
Highway system
Quebec provincial highways ← A-70 A-85 →

Autoroute 73 (or A-73, also called Autoroute Robert-Cliche south of Quebec City, Autoroute Henri-IV from the Pierre-Laporte Bridge to the Autoroute Felix-Leclerc interchange and Autoroute Laurentienne to the north) is an important Autoroute in east-central Quebec, Canada. A-73 provides an important freeway connection to areas to the north and south of Quebec City, starting in the Beauce region and (currently) ending in the Laurentian Mountains north of Quebec City. Future extensions will take it farther north and south, into the Saguenay region and possibly to near the Maine border. Including concurrencies, A-73 is currently 116 km (72.1 mi) long.

Autoroute 73 westbound over Pierre Laporte Bridge

left Autoroute 73

A-73 currently begins at Route du Golf in Beauceville as a 4-lane freeway. It then narrows to a two-lane freeway. It widens again to a 4-lane freeway after 28 km (17.4 mi) in Sainte-Marie. Just after crossing A-20 in Lévis, A-73 crosses the Pierre Laporte Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in Canada) into Quebec City. Since November 15, 2007, A-73 continues further south into Beauceville (Exit 61) and further extensions to Saint-Georges are under construction.

In September 2008, the Canadian Government announced that under its Building Canada infrastructure plan, it will allocate priority funding through a contribution totalling a maximum of $75 million for improvements to Autoroute Robert-Cliche which includes widening the remaining two-lane freeway to 4 lanes.

For 10 km (6.2 mi) through Quebec City, A-73 overlaps A-40, partially using A-73 exit numbers and partially using A-40 numbers. The routes split at a cloverleaf interchange, where A-73 joins the Autoroute Laurentienne (which in itself continues into downtown Quebec City, signed as Autoroute 973) and Route 175.

Heading north, A-73 continues as a multilane freeway north to Stoneham where it currently transitions into a brief two-lane freeway before converting to a 2-lane conventional highway as Route 175. However, extensions of A-73 are under construction; it will be a 4-lane freeway or at-grade expressway all the way north to Saguenay. It is unclear whether the long northern extension will be signed as A-73 or Route 175. It was completed to Stoneham by 2007 and Saguenay by 2011, except for a 3 km section just north of Stoneham that is due to be brought to freeway standards by 2013. Some of the sections just south of Saguenay were already being twinned as of early 2010. If the A-73 designation is extended to Saguenay it would likely terminate at Quebec Autoroute 70, currently the only autoroute in Quebec that does not directly connect to any other.

Due to the alignment change and the fact that both sections continue for a short distance as Autoroutes, some have suggested that the Laurentienne section of A-73 (along with A-973) be given a new designation, the most common (and most logical due to the fact it would be replacing Route 175) suggestion is Autoroute 75. It is unlikely that it will take place however.

The designation Autoroute Robert-Cliche is named after a Quebec provincial New Democratic Party leader of the early 1960s. Robert Cliche also led an inquiry into Quebec trade union rights in 1974. A foundation in his name is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Beauce region through which A-73 travels.

The Autoroute Laurentienne name is derived from the Laurentian Mountains region north of Quebec City, through which the northern extension of A-73 is planned.

Interchanges from South to North

Municipality	No.	Intersecting Roads	Notes
Future southern extension
Saint-Georges	43*	127e Rue Route 204	(future interchange)
	48*	74e Rue	(future interchange)
Notre-Dame-des-Pins	53*	20e Rue	(future interchange)
Autoroute Robert-Cliche, south of Quebec City
Beauceville	61	Route du Golf	(current A-73 terminus)
Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce	72	Route Lac-Vachon Route 276
Saints-Anges - Vallée-Jonction Boundary	81	Route Érables Route 112)
Sainte-Marie	91	Route Carter
	95	Route Cameron
Scott	101	Route Président-Kennedy Route 173
Saint-Isidore	108	Route Vieux-Moulin
Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon	115	Rue du Pont Route 218
Lévis	123	Avenue St-Augustin Route 175
	124	Chemin St-Gregoire
	128	Route Beaulieu
	130	Avenue Joseph-Hudon
	131	Autoroute 20
Pierre Laporte Bridge
Quebec City	132	Boulevard Champlain, Avenue des Hôtels (unsigned Route 136)
	133	Chemin St-Louis	(northbound only)
	134	Autoroute 540 (Autoroute Duplessis) / Boulevard Laurier (Route 175)
	136	Boulevard Hochelaga
	137	Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois
	138	Chemin Ste-Foy	(northbound) / (southbound)
	139	Autoroute 40 West / Ville de Québec Autoroute 440 (Autoroute Charest)
	140	Rue John-Molson
	141	Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel Route 138)
	142	Autoroute 573 (Autoroute Henri-IV)
Autoroute Henri-IV, concurrency with Autoroute 40
Quebec City	308 (143*)	Boulevard de l'Ormiere Route 371
	310 (145*)	Boulevard St-Jacques
	311 (146*)	Autoroute 740 (Autoroute du Vallon)
	312 (147*)	Boulevard Pierre-Bertrand Route 358)
Autoroute Laurentienne, north of Quebec City
Quebec City	148	Autoroute 40 East / Autoroute 973 south / Route 175
	149	Boulevard de l'Atrium / Boulevard Lebourgneuf
	150	Boulevard Louis-XIVRoute 369
	151	Boulevard Jean-Talon
	154	Rue de la Faune, Wendake
	155	Rue Georges-Muir
	156	Rue Bernier	(northbound only)
	157	Boulevard du Lac, Lac-Beauport
	158	Rue Jacques-Bédard	(northbound only)
	159	Boulevard Talbot
Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury	167	Stoneham, Tewkesbury, Lac-Delage Route 371
	169	Chemin des Frères-Wright, Chemin Crawford
	174	Chemin Saint-Edmond, Saint-Adolphe
	182	Chemin du Parc National

• *Exit number not signed (or future interchange), based on kilometre post
• On the east-west portion of the A-40 concurrency, the first number is the posted A-40 exit number, followed by the unposted A-73 kilometre post in brackets.

External links

• A-73 at Quebec Autoroutes
• A-73 extension unofficial website
• Transports Quebec Map (French)
• Building Canada infrastructure plan for A-73