Autoroutes of Quebec

The Quebec Autoroute System is a network of freeways within the province of Quebec, Canada, operating under the same principle of controlled access as the Interstate Highway System in the United States and the 400-series highways in neighbouring Ontario. The Autoroutes are the backbone of Quebec's highway system, spanning over 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles). The speed limit on the Autoroutes is generally 100 km/h (62 mph) in rural areas and 70–90 km/h (43–56 mph) in urban areas; most roads are made of asphalt concrete.

The word "autoroute" is a blend of auto and route, equivalent to "freeway" or "motorway" in English, and it became the equivalent of "expressway" in French. In the 1950s, when the first Autoroutes were being planned, the design documents called them autostrades from the Italian word autostrada.

Signage

Autoroutes are identified by blue-and-red shields, similar to the American Interstate system. The red header of the shield contains a white image representing a highway overpass, and the blue lower portion of the shield contains the autoroute's number in white, along with a fleur-de-lis, which is a provincial symbol of Quebec.

Most autoroute and road traffic signs in the province are in French, though English is also used on federally-financed or -owned routes, such as the Bonaventure Expressway in Montreal. To surmount the language barrier, however, most signs in Quebec use pictograms, and text is avoided in most cases, with the exceptions usually only being the names of control cities. Other exceptions that are posted in both languages is the illegal use of radar detectors when entering the province that reads "Détecteurs de radar interdits/Radar detectors prohibited", as well as areas where roads can be slippery due to melting ice and snow, marked "Degel/Thaw".