Quebec Autoroute 10

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Not to be confused with Quebec Route 10.

Autoroute 10 shield

Autoroute 10
Autoroute Bonaventure, Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est
Route information
Maintained by Transports Québec
Length: 145.1 km[1][2] (90.2 mi)
Existed: 1962[1] – present
Major junctions
West end: A-720 in Montreal
  A-15 / A-20 / A-30 in Brossard
A-35 near Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
East end: A-55 / A-610 in Sherbrooke
Major cities: Montreal, Brossard, Granby, Magog, Sherbrooke
Highway system

Quebec provincial highways

A-5 A-13
A-10 was originally signed as the Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est.

Autoroute 10 (A-10) is an Autoroute of Quebec in Canada that links greater Montreal to key population centres in Montérégie and Estrie, including Brossard, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Granby, and Sherbrooke.

The A-10 also provides access to popular winter resorts at Bromont, Owl's Head, Mont Sutton and Mont Orford. Motorists travelling on the A-10 can see eight of nine Monteregian Hills: Mount Royal, Mont Saint-Bruno, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Mont Saint-Grégoire, Mont Rougemont, Mont Yamaska, Mont Shefford and Mont Brome. (The ninth, Mont Mégantic is located beyond the eastern terminus of the autoroute.

At 147 km (91 mi) long, the A-10 is the fourth longest autoroute in Quebec.


The A-10 carries the name Autoroute Bonaventure (Bonaventure Expressway) from its start in Montreal's city centre to the Champlain Bridge. From there until its terminus in Sherbrooke, the A-10 is called the Autoroute des Cantons-de-l'Est (Eastern Townships Expressway), a reference to the historic name given to the region east of Montreal and north of the U.S. border.

Autoroute Bonaventure[edit]

The A-10 begins in Downtown Montreal as an extension of University Street near Place Bonaventure. Two underground ramps provide an interchange with the A-720. At km 1, the A-10 crosses the Lachine Canal, then travels along the St. Lawrence River to an interchange with the A-15 and A-20. This interchange is partially on the Island of Montreal and partially on Nuns' Island. At km 2, it crosses (but does not provide access to) Route 112 at the north end of Victoria Bridge. The A-10 has three lanes in each direction on the majority of its length and the speed limit is 70 km/h. The A-10 is multiplexed with the A-15 and A-20 across the Champlain Bridge. All three autoroutes diverge soon after reaching the southern edge of the bridge.

The A-10 serves as an important link for commuters travelling to downtown Montreal from suburban South Shore communities via the Champlain Bridge. It also provides access to the Montreal Technoparc and the Concordia Bridge. The A-10 in Montreal is jointly owned by the city of Montreal, the Société Les Ponts Jacques Cartier, and Federal Bridge Corporation (an agency of the Government of Canada).

Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est[edit]

At km 8, the A-10 crosses Taschereau Boulevard. Bus lanes run in both directions along the median for four kilometers between the southern end of the Champlain Bridge and Milan Boulevard. Crossing Brossard, the A-10 runs along the northern edge of the Quartier DIX30 shopping complex before reaching interchanges with the A-30 at km 11 and the A-35 at km 22. The A-10 crosses the Richelieu River at km 28 and enters a rich agricultural region.

Between Bromont (km 74) and Magog (km 121) the A-10 passes through a mountainous region, close to two of Quebec's major ski centres (Mont Orford and Mont Brome). Near the northern end of Lake Memphremagog, the A-10 reaches an interchange with the A-55 at km 121. The A-10 continues east as a concurrency with A-55. Between km 123 and 128, Route 112 functions as a frontage road.

A-10 and A-55 bypass the city of Sherbrooke to the east and north, reaching interchanges with spur routes A-410 at km 140 and A-610 at km 143. The A-10 reaches its terminus at the junction with A-610, while A-55 continues north to Drummondville.



Blue logo and directional sign at the A-10/A-35 interchange near Chambly.

The 116 km (72 mi) long Autoroute de l'Est (Eastern Expressway) was opened to traffic in December 1964. Extending from the southern end of the Champlain Bridge to Magog, the highway replaced the old Quebec Route 1 (now Route 112) as the main road link between these two points. An official opening for the highway came one year later, in 1965. The A-10 was the second autoroute (after the Laurentian Autoroute outside Montreal to be commissioned. Both were opened as toll highways by a Quebec government agency. The A-10 featured five toll stations (at current km 22, km 37, km 68, km 90, and km 115). Motorists were charged $1.50 to make the entire trip.

The Autoroute Bonaventure through Montreal opened in 1967 to link approach roads to Expo 67 with the Champlain Bridge.

The Autoroute des Cantons de l'Est was the first autoroute in Quebec to use exit numbers based on distance instead of in sequential order, as had previously been the case. As Canada had not yet adopted the Metric system, exit numbers referenced the distance in miles from the southern end of the Champlain Bridge.

The A-10 did not originally have a route number. Instead, route marker signs featured a red triangular shield featuring the name of the route. Unusually, the directional signs were also originally red. Later, blue shields and signs replaced the red versions.

In 1985, the toll system was abolished and use of the triangular shields were discontinued. Blue directional signs have gradually been converted to standard green signs used elsewhere in North America. In 2013, motorists could still see blue signs at entrances to, and exits of, the autoroute.

Between 1988 and 2006, A-10 departed its multiplex with A-55 at km 143 and continued eastward for eleven kilometers to a final terminus with Route 112. In October 2006, this section of A-10 was renumbered as A-610.


The Autoroute Bonaventure will be completely reconfigured in the coming years. The Société du Havre de Montréal (SHM) has proposed transforming the autoroute into an urban thoroughfare as part of a broader project to redevelop Montreal's harbourfront.[3] The city of Montreal announced in January 2013 that it would take over the SHM's responsibilities, citing concerns over transparency.[4]


Exit list from west to east[edit]

Municipality No. Destinations Notes
Montreal Quebec Autoroute 720.svgVille-Marie Expressway east

University Street north ; Rue Notre-Dame

Quebec Autoroute 720.svg westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1 Wellington Street westbound exit and eastbound entrance
2 Port de Montréal; Avenue Pierre-Dupuy; Rue Carrie-Derick Street (Technoparc)
3 Rue Carrie-Derick Street; (Montreal Technoparc) eastbound exit and entrance
4 Quebec Autoroute 15.svgAutoroute 15 north; Quebec Autoroute 20.svgAutoroute 20 west - Decarie Expressway; Saint-Jérôme; Toronto A-15 and A-20 join eastbound and leave westbound; A-10 west takes exit 58 from A-15/A-20
Île des Sœurs
Quebec Autoroute 10.svg Quebec Autoroute 15.svg Quebec Autoroute 20.svg Champlain Bridge St. Lawrence River
Brossard 53
Quebec Autoroute 15.svgAutoroute 15 south to I-87.svgInterstate 87; Quebec Autoroute 20.svgAutoroute 20 east; Qc132.svgRoute 132 - Longueuil; La Prairie; New York; Quebec City A-15 and A-20 join westbound and leave eastbound
1 8 Qc134.svgRoute 134 - Boulevard Taschereau (Taschereau Interchange); Longueuil; La Prairie
9 Boulevard Milan Eastbound only
11 Quebec Autoroute 30.svgAutoroute 30 to Quebec Autoroute 20.svgAutoroute 20; to Sorel-Tracy; Quebec City; Châteauguay
9 22 Quebec Autoroute 35.svgAutoroute 35 South to I-89.svgInterstate 89 - Chambly; Saint-Luc; Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Richelieu 13 29 Qc133.svgRoute 133 - Iberville; Richelieu
Marieville 18 37 Qc227.svgRoute 227 - Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir; Marieville; Mont-Saint-Grégoire; Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir
Sainte-Brigide-d'Iberville 25 48 Qc233.svgRoute 233 - Saint-Césaire; Rougemont; Farnham; Sainte-Brigide-d'Iberville
Ange-Gardien 30 55 Qc235.svgRoute 235 - Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford; Ange-Gardien; Farnham
Saint-Alphonse 37 68 Qc139.svgRoute 139 - Boulevard David-Bouchard; Cowansville; Sutton; Granby
41 74 Route Pierre-Laporte - Bromont; Cowansville; Granby
Bromont 44 78 Boulevard Bromont - Bromont
88 Boulevard Horizon - Waterloo
52 90 Qc243.svgRoute 243 - Waterloo; Valcourt; Brome Lake
Saint-Étienne-de-Bolton 58 100 Stukely-Sud; Saint-Étienne-de-Bolton eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Eastman 61 106 Qc245.svgRoute 245 - Eastman; Mansonville; Stukely-Sud
Magog 67 115 Qc112.svgRoute 112 - Magog; Saint-Benoît-du-Lac; Mont Orford split into 115-S (Route 112) and 115-N (Mont Orford) eastbound
? 118 Qc141.svgRoute 141 - Orford; Magog
71 121 Quebec Autoroute 55.svgAutoroute 55 south to I-91.svgInterstate 91 - Coaticook; Stanstead; Magog; Vermont A-55 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
123 Qc112.svgRoute 112 to Qc249.svgRoute 249 - Saint-Denis-de-Brompton; Omerville; Magog
Sherbrooke Qc112.svgRoute 112 west to Autoroute 10 west; to Quebec Autoroute 55.svg Autoroute 55 south - Magog; Montreal eastbound exit and westbound entrance (U-turn ramp)
41 128 Qc112.svgRoute 112 - Boulevard Bourque; Deauville; Rock Forest; Sherbrooke
46 133 Rock Forest; Saint-Élie-d'Orford
50 137 Qc220.svgRoute 220 - Boulevard Industriel; Saint-Élie-d'Orford
54 140 Quebec Autoroute 410.svgAutoroute 410 east - Sherbrooke
55 141 Chemin Saint-Joseph
143 Quebec Autoroute 610.svgAutoroute 610 east - Fleurimont, East Angus, Lac-Mégantic

Quebec Autoroute 55.svgAutoroute 55 north


  2. ^ Ministère des transport: "Distances routière", page 12, Les Publications du Québec, 2005 (Distance between Montreal and exit 143)
  4. ^ Christopher Curtis, "City to run Bonaventure project; Societe du havre stripped of its duty," Montreal Gazette, 25 January 2013, A7.

External links[edit]

Route map: Google / Bing