  Autoroute 85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route Transcanadienne | ||||
| Autoroute Claude-Béchard | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Transports Québec | ||||
| Length | 92 km[1][2] (57 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 projected 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 will 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 northern section runs from south of Saint-Honoré-de-Témiscouata (km 57) 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 southern section extends from the New Brunswick border (km 0) to north of Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! (km 50). 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 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.