AsphaltPlanet.ca > Quebec > Autoroute 50
|
Western Terminus: R-148 interchange in Downtown Hull. Eastern Terminus: R-117 interchange southeast of St. Jerome. Routing: A-50 starts its trek through the the Ottawa Valley at the Boulevard Alummettiers interchange complex in Downtown Hull (Gatineau). A-50 progresses northerly through Hull, then turns easterly through Suburban Gatineau. A Northerly By-pass of Gatineau, Autoroute 550, was proposed to intersect with A-50 where the freeway turns easterly northeast of Downtown. A-550 would have linked to A-5 through Gatineau Park. A-50 continues along the north side of the Ottawa Valley around the southeast of Buckingham where it narrows to a Super-2. A-50 continues as a Super-2 through to Lachute, where it briefly widens to a four-lane freeway where it by-passes the small community. East of Highway 329, A-50 narrows back to a two-lane highway. Between Lachute and Aeroport Mirabel, the highway crosses two railways at-grade, and has two minor at-grade intersections. At Mirabel Airport, A-50 widens to a four lane freeway, maintaining this four lane cross-section easterly until it terminates at A-15 and R-117. The western-most interchange of A-50 in Hull is numbered 134. When originally conceived, A-50 was envisioned to continue westerly by-passing Highway 148 all the way to Pembroke Ontario. Such an extension is very unlikely to ever be realised. Links:
|
Pictures on this page are arranged in order from south to north. A-50 East
photos are left-aligned in the last column, while A-50 West photos are right-aligned.
Center-line pictures are centered within the last column.
|
Location |
Description |
Photo |
||
|
East- |
West- |
|||
|
Autoroute 50 ends at Boulevard des Allumettieres near Downtown Hull. Westerly traffic continues along Route 148. Click here for R-148 images. |
||||
|
MRC d'Argenteuil |
R-148 piggybacks along Autoroute 50 through a small section of Gatineau. Autoroute 50 ends at Boulevard des Allumettieres, while R-148 continues westerly. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
|||
|
Autoroute 5 progresses north from the Ottawa River towards Wakefield, QC. Click here for A-5 images. |
||||
|
MRC d'Argenteuil |
This view looks westerly approaching the temporary western terminus of Autoroute 50 at Route 344 north of Grenville, Quebec and Hawksbury, Ontario. Though the freeway ended at this interchange when this photo was taken in May of 2010, work was underway to extend the super-2 freeway westerly completing the gap between Grenville and Buckingham. The full length of A-50 between Gatineau and Montreal is projected to open as a two lane freeway by 2012. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC d'Argenteuil |
Westbound advanced signage that denotes the current (as of May 2010) Western Terminus of Autoroute 50. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC d'Argenteuil |
This is the first of several westbound signs that alert motorists of the impending terminus of the eastern segment of Autoroute 50. MTQ (Quebec's Ministry of Transportation) does an excellent job of signing the termini of its freeways. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Westbound exit signage for the exit to Brownsburg and Chatham. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
This view looks westerly from the Highway 148 interchange. Autoroute 50 narrows from a four lane freeway to a 'Super-2' freeway immediately west of the Route 148 interchange. Prior to 2007, Autoroute 50 terminated at this Route 148 crossing, leaving an expressway gap between Buckingham and Lachute. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
Highway 148 is the principal arterial along the north side of the Ottawa River. Click here for R-148 images. |
||||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Easterly view from the Highway 148 overpass along Autoroute 50 along the Lachute Bypass. Autoroute 50 has a brief four lane segment through Lachute to allow vehicles to safely overtake each other on what is otherwise a 'Super-2' freeway between Gatineau and St. Jerome. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Westbound view as Autoroute 50 approaches the Highway 148 interchange in Western Lachute. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Westbound advanced signage for the Highway 148 interchange as Autoroute 50 crosses over Riviere du Nord. Note the rather unconventional concrete central median separating opposing traffic flows. While I can appreciate the merit in experimenting with new designs, I cannot understand the advantages of this type of barrier. It appears to be a rather thick wall of solid concrete, which would appear more expensive than a typical narrower and taller design, further the barrier doesn't taper at all so vehicles would fully impact the barrier rather than riding up along it. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Overhead guide signage at the ramp to Highway 329 leading to Downtown Lachute. What is now Highway 329 was once Highway 148. Highway 148 was rerouted away from Downtown Lachute circa 2008. Highway 148 was re-routed onto the former Highway 158 and Route Arthur-Sauve. This increased the logic of Highway 148 as a short-cut route between Lachute and Western Laval. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC D'Argenteuil |
Advanced signage for the Highway 329 interchange. Overtop of the crest of the pictured hill (which in actuality carries Autoroute 50 overtop of the western-most segment of Highway 329), Autoroute 50 divides into a divided highway. Autoroute 50 is a divided highway for about 8km where the highway by-passes Lachute. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westerly view as Autoroute 50 passes underneath of the Chemin des Sources overpass. A-50 is very obviously designed to be widened to a four-lane freeway in the future. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westerly view along A-50 in advance of the Route 148 interchange. Despite being a staged freeway, MTQ has constructed several long passing lanes along the single carriageway sections of Autoroute 50 to aid traffic flow. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westerly view along A-50 approaching one of two at-grade railway crossings along A-50 between Lachute and Mirabel. Vehicles that are required by law to stop at all railway crossings (such as school busses) are directed to stop on the paved shoulder so that they do not interfere with general high-speed highway traffic. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westerly view from the Chemin St-Simon overpass. Autoroute 50 meets Chemin St-Simon at a A2 partial cloverleaf interchange. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
.This view looks easterly along Autoroute 50 from the Chemin St-Simon overpass. Autoroute 50 passes through a variety of forested and agricultural landscapes as the highway progresses easterly from Gatineau to Montreal. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westbound advanced signage for the Chemin Simon Interchange. Note how the signage references the community of Mirabel, with Saint-Canut and Sainte-Scholastique in brackets. The Municipality of Mirabel was created in 1971 with the amalgamation of eight former townships. During the 1970s it was envisioned that MRC de Mirabel would house a new city to service Mirabel Airport. While population growth has been steady, particularly in the 2000s, today (in 2011) MRC de Mirabel is still predominantly rural. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
This is the western-most of two at-grade intersections along Autoroute 50 west of Aeroport Mirabel. This intersection appears to be lightly used. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
This photograph was shot from the westbound driving lane along Autoroute 50 approaching the eastern at-grade intersections along A-50. Autoroute 50 is generally a super-2 expressway where it is a two-lane highway, these at-grade intersections are the exception not the rule. In the case of the pictured at-grade intersection, it serves a well used access road to the cargo section of Mirabel Airport. Because of the high volume of traffic (particularly truck traffic) that utilizes this intersection, it should be replaced by an interchange. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westbound view along Autoroute 50 from Mirabel's Rue Service A1. Autoroute 50 narrows from a four lane freeway to a two lane highway in this photo. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Easterly view from the Rue Service A1 overpass. The boondoggle that became Mirabel Airport is a source of major frustration with the Federal Government of Canada for the residents of Mirabel. A considerable amount of private farm land was expropriated by the Trudeau Government for the construction of Montreal's Mirabel Airport. Similar land was expropriated by the Federal Government in the 1970s in Pickering Ontario to eventually construct a new super-airport to replace Toronto's Pearson. The Federal Government still owns the Pickering lands, and has been threatening to construct the facility in recent years. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
Mirabel Airport has an extensive terminal and parking area that has been abandoned. Click here Mirabel Airport Images. |
||||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Easterly view from the high-speed flyover ramp along A-50 looking east. The now abandoned Chateau Aeroport-Mirabel Hotel dominates the right side of the photograph. Mirabel Airport came to fruition under Pierre Trudeau's Federal Liberal Government during the 1970s. Today (in 2011) it represents one of Canada's largest abandoned publicly-funded facilities. Ironically (and unbelievably), in 2004 Dorval Airport was re-designated as Trudeau Airport. Dorval Airport was to be closed in favour of Mirabel Airport under Trudeau's tenure as Prime Minister. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westbound overhead guide signage for the ramp to the passenger terminal to Mirabel Airport from Autoroute 50. The two lane left hand ramp to Mirabel is effectively obsolete since the passenger terminal of Mirabel Airport closed in 2004. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
This westbound advanced diagram sign advises motorists of the left hand exit ramp to Mirabel Airport as well as the right hand exit ramp for delivery services. The abandoned 354 Chateau Aeroport-Mirabel Hotel lays dormant immediately to the south of the freeway. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westbound signage in advance of the left hand exit to Mirabel Airport. Left exit's in Quebec are marked with a yellow trapazoid that points to the left, instead of to the right. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
This view looks westerly towards Mirabel Airport from the Chemin Belanger overpass. Despite the freeway's rural surroundings, Autoroute 50 is continuously lit between Mirabel Airport and Autoroute 15. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res: (1440x960) (2400x1600) | ||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Easterly view from the Ch. Belanger overpass. Obviously the Autoroute 50, widens out with a huge median east of Ch. Belanger easterly to Autoroute 15. During the hay day of Autoroute construction in Quebec, Autoroute 13 was to be extended to Autoroute 50 at about this point. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
|
Autoroute 50 crosses Autoroute 15 just south of St. Jerome. Autoroute 15 is the principal north-south freeway through Western Quebec. Click here for A-15 images. |
||||
|
MRC de Mirabel |
Westbound overhead signage for the ramp to Autoroute 15 North. Autoroute 50 continues about a kilometre east of Autoroute 15 to Route 117, as more or less a ramp extension, hence the westbound signage. |
 |
||
|
Photographer: Scott Steeves |
Date: 5/24/2010 |
High-res | ||
<- A-40
PQ Highways
A-70 ->
Asphaltplanet.ca
© 2010-2011 Scott Steeves.
Scott@asphaltplanet.ca
Page Created: February 5, 2011.
Last Updated: February 5, 2011.
