Quebec Autoroute 5

Quebec Autoroute 5

Autoroute 5 (or A-5, also called Autoroute de la Gatineau) is a short Autoroute in the Outaouais region of western Quebec. It connects the central urban area of Gatineau (formerly Hull) with the recreational areas of Gatineau Park and the exurban rural areas of Chelsea and La Pêche. The southern terminus provides access to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, which continues into downtown Ottawa. The A-5 generally has four lanes of traffic (two per direction) with the exception of southernmost section across the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge where A-5 widens to six lanes (three per direction).

Part of Route 148 overlapped A-5 from Autoroute 50 to Saint-Raymond Boulevard until completion of des Allumettières Boulevard in 2007. With the completion of des Allumettières Boulevard, Route 148 was rerouted onto the southern leg of Autoroute 50 and then west towards Aylmer on des Allumettières Boulevard.

There are currently two segments of A-5:

1. The main segment is a freeway that continues for 21.5 km (13.4 mi) from the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge through the Hull sector of Gatineau to a short access road to Route 105 south of Wakefield.
2. The second segment, built in 1993, is a short four-lane, at-grade expressway bypass of Wakefield, which overlaps Route 105 and Route 366. The MTQ plans to eliminate the discontinuity between the two segments by 2012. Further extensions of A-5 north of Wakefield have been deemed unnecessary given the current AADT on Route 105.

A 2.5 km (1.6 mi) extension of the southern segment past Tulip Valley, an area of Route 105 that has been the site of multiple fatal incidents in the past, was opened on 4 December 2009 following a $27 million (CAD) extension project. Another $115 million 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) project began in 2010 to connect the south and north segments, completing the carriageway to Wakefield by 2012.

Beginning in June 2008, the MTQ began replacing the concrete surface from Ottawa to Saint-Joseph Boulevard with asphalt after multiple incidents in which pieces of concrete broke out from the surface including one that struck the windshield of a vehicle, killing its driver in November 2007. Construction was completed by the end of 2008.