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This photo offers a view of the junction between the De la Capitale Highway (now Félix-Leclerc) and the Laurentienne Highway, located in the northern sector of the city. Its construction in the 1950s and 1960s forced the relocation of a number of buildings in Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides, now a Québec City district. This photo shows the situation in 1973.
1971 - 1974

Make way for asphalt!

Automobiles became the main means of transport in North American cities during the 1960s and 1970s. Québec City was no exception. In 1964, Highway 20 connected Québec City to Montréal and the rest of the country. In the 1970s, highways were built all around Québec City, converging at the city centre. Entire neighbourhoods were razed to make way for a web of asphalt that stretched across the city. Québec City lost some of its historic charm during this period. Do you have any memories to share?

The De la Capitale and Laurentienne highways in the early 1970s

W. B. Edwards Inc. This photo offers a view of the junction between the De la Capitale Highway (now Félix-Leclerc) and the Laurentienne Highway, located in the northern sector of the city. Its construction in the 1950s and 1960s forced the relocation of a number of buildings in Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides, now a Québec City district. This photo shows the situation in 1973.
Chronoscope Do you have any memories of this change in the Québec City landscape? (unilingual French for a limited time) Source: Ville de Québec All rights reserved: Ville de Québec - W. B. Edwards Inc. Fonds - Date: 1973