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Hello, North!

Black and white photograph of Highway 15 being built. Two workers, a crane and construction materials are visible, as well as large metal beams and pieces of wood.

Centre d’archives de Laval, P79 Fonds Germain Beauchamp, Construction of the Laurentian Highway (A-15),  P79/A05.117, circa 1957.

In the late 1950s, a huge road construction project got under way. Quebec’s first highway connected the heart of the Laurentians, Sainte-Agathe, with downtown Montreal. The artery cut across the western section of Île Jésus. It provided access to important places, including Dorval Airport and, later on, Mirabel Airport. The new highway also stimulated industrial development. It ran through the Science and High Technology Park, which is home to the Institut Armand-Frappier. It also made it easier for residents to get to jobs created by the new industrial companies setting up on the North Shore of Montreal.