Autoroute 31 (A-31) is an Autoroute in the region of Lanaudière in Quebec. Constructed in 1966, A-31 primarily links Joliette with A-40 and in turn to Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and other points served by Quebec's autoroute system. 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.

Autoroute 31 marker
Autoroute 31
Autoroute Antonio-Barrette
Map
A-31 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length14 km[1][2] (8.7 mi)
Existed1966[2]–present
Major junctions
South end A-40 / R-131 in Lavaltrie
North end R-131 / R-158 in Joliette
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
Major citiesJoliette, Lavaltrie, Saint-Thomas
Highway system
A-30 A-35

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

Route description

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A-31 begins just south of its interchange with A-40 in Lavaltrie. Motorists exiting A-40 can choose to head north on A-31/Route 131 or south on Route 131 alone to Lavaltrie's city centre. The A-31/A-40 interchange has an unusual configuration, built to accommodate tollbooths that were dismantled.

The freeway runs through farmland for much of its length, with exits at km 2, km 7 and km 12 to serve local roads.

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 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 A-31 at km 15 may continue on Route 158 west to Saint-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

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RCMLocationkm[4]miExitDestinationsNotes
D'AutrayLavaltrie0.00.0  R-131 south – LavaltrieSouthern terminus of concurrency with R-131
1  A-40 / Rang Saint-François – Québec, MontréalPartial at-grade intersection; A-40 exit 22
1.60.992Rang Saint-Henri / Rang du Point-du-Jour
JolietteSaint-Thomas7.34.57Saint-Thomas, Saint-Paul
11.97.412Rue Ernest-Harnois / Rue Nazaire-LaurinNorthbound exit and entrance
Joliette13.48.314   R-131 north / R-158 – Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Berthierville, Saint-JérômeNorthern terminus of concurrency with R-131; signed as exits 14E (east) and 14O (west)
14.08.7Boulevard Dollard / Rue Calixa-Lavalleé / Rue Joseph-Arthur – Joliette Centre-VilleRoundabout; continuation beyond R-158
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ Ministère des transports, "Distances routières", page (?), Les Publications du Québec, 2005
  2. ^ a b "Répertoire des autoroutes du Québec" (in French). Transports Québec. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. 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.
  4. ^ "Quebec Autoroute 31" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
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KML is from Wikidata