Quebec Autoroute 973

Autoroute 973 (A-973), also known as Autoroute Laurentienne, is an Autoroute highway in the Canadian province of Quebec that is a spur route of Autoroute 73 in Quebec City. At 3 km long, it connects downtown Quebec City to Autoroute 40, after which it continues north as Autoroute 73.

Route description
The segment of Laurentien Boulevard was built in 1956 between Dorchester Street and Wilfrid Hamel Boulevard, with the second segment reaching Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides in 1963. The road was finally extended to Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury in 1994. Laurentien Boulevard became an Autoroute in 1983, and obtained two different numbers; south of Autoroute 40, Autoroute Laurentienne is numbered Autoroute 973, while to the north, it is Autoroute 73. It is currently the highest number Quebec highway.

Future
In January 2020, as an option for the proposed Quebec–Lévis third link, the Quebec government proposed extending Autoroute 973 to Autoroute 20 south by tunneling underneath the Quebec hill, St. Lawrence River, and central Lévis. The original tunnel proposal was a continuation of Autoroute 40 to Autoroute 20 passing under Île d'Orléans; however, François Bonnardel, the Minister of Transport, proposed a route that would connect the St-Roch district and the Desjardins borough of Lévis. The proposal involved the installation of a tram bus with seven stations and would connect with the Quebec City Tramway.