Papineau-Leblanc Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Papineau-Leblanc Bridge was one of the first cable-stayed spans
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....

, and was for many years the longest of this type, in the world. It is part of Quebec Autoroute 19
Quebec Autoroute 19
Autoroute 19, also known as Autoroute Papineau , is an autoroute in Quebec. It crosses the Rivière des Prairies via the Papineau-Leblanc Bridge, connecting the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in Montreal and the Duvernay neighbourhood in Laval.There are plans to widen Route 335 to four lanes,...

 and is one of the connections between Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...

 and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, spanning Rivière des Prairies
Rivière des Prairies
The Rivière des Prairies is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada....

. It was fabricated from weathering steel and has an orthotropic deck
Orthotropic deck
An orthotropic bridge or orthotropic deck is one whose deck typically comprises a structural steel deck plate stiffened either longitudinally or transversely, or in both directions. This allows the deck both to directly bear vehicular loads and to contribute to the bridge structure's overall...

. The freeway ends abruptly at the southern end of the bridge at the intersection of Henri Bourassa Boulevard
Henri Bourassa Boulevard
Henri Bourassa Boulevard is a major east-west street located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Situated in northern Montreal Island, it runs parallel to Gouin Boulevard. Spanning 29 kilometres in length, it links the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles in the east to Autoroute 13 in the...

, where Autoroute 19 follows Avenue Papineau
Papineau Avenue
Papineau Avenue, is an important, and longest, north-south street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Part of the street, between Henri Bourassa Boulevard and Quebec Autoroute 40, is the Montreal portion of Quebec Autoroute 19, commonly referred to as Autoroute Papineau...

 down to Quebec Autoroute 40
Quebec Autoroute 40
Autoroute 40 is a major highway on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It is one of the two main connections between Montreal and Quebec City...

.

The Leblanc portion of the name comes from the name of a street in Laval
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...

 that was expropriated to build the autoroute. That street was named after Alpha Leblanc, a local landowner. Portions of that street remain on both sides of the autoroute.

In 2000, a proposition to rename the bridge after the late Pietro Rizzuto
Pietro Rizzuto
Pietro Rizzuto was a Canadian politician.Born in Cattolica Eraclea, Italy, he came to Canada at the age of 20. In 1963, he founded Inter State Paving Inc., a construction company....

 was initially approved, then rejected by the Commission de Toponymie du Québec, which ruled that the name Papineau-Leblanc was already entrenched in local culture and non-controversial. Most locals simply refer to this bridge as Papineau.

See also


External links

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