Route 136 ( R-136 ), formerly Autoroute 720 , known as the Ville-Marie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Ville-Marie (French) is an Autoroute highway in the Canadian province of Quebec that is a spur route of Autoroute 20 in Montreal . Its western terminus is located at the Turcot Interchange , a junction with Autoroute 15 and Autoroute 20 , and its eastern terminus is near the Jacques Cartier Bridge ( Route 134 ), where the highway merges with Notre-Dame Street . The Autoroute Ville-Marie designation is named after the downtown borough of Ville-Marie , through which the expressway is routed. It was designated Autoroute 720 until 2021 when it was renamed to Route 136.
28-483: Part of R-136 runs underground (below grade) through Downtown Montreal . This section begins from the west at Rue Guy (exit 4: Rue de la Montagne / Rue Atwater ) and remains underground almost all the way to its eastern end, except for a short section between Rue Saint-Urbain and Rue Hôtel-de-Ville. The tunnelled section west of this gap is known as the Ville-Marie Tunnel , and the section east of it
56-540: A concept inspired by KPF’s Westend Tower in Frankfurt , Germany . It is located next to Bell Centre and Windsor Station , and is connected to the Bonaventure metro station and Montreal’s Underground City . The building’s architecture combines postmodern and neo-modern styles. Its east and west facades differ distinctly: the west facade is a granite-clad wall with square windows and irregular setbacks, facing
84-559: Is Saint Catherine Street , Canada's busiest commercial avenue. The area includes high end retail such as the Holt Renfrew Ogilvy department store as well as Les Cours Mont-Royal shopping centre. Other major streets include Sherbrooke Street , Peel , de la Montagne , de Maisonneuve and Crescent . The skyline may be observed from one of two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belvedere takes in downtown,
112-412: Is Montreal's second tallest skyscraper , with a roof height of 199 meters (without its spire ), and a total height of 226.5 meters including the spire. The height definition follows the city’s National Building Code, which excludes decorative spires, whereas the international Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) includes it, making it Montreal’s tallest building. This 47-story skyscraper
140-608: Is aligned with De Maisonneuve Boulevard , serving (west to east): Atwater , Guy-Concordia , Peel , McGill , Place-des-Arts , Saint-Laurent and Berri-UQAM stations. Line 2 (Orange) runs some blocks south of the Green Line, serving (west to east) Lucien-L'Allier , Bonaventure , Square-Victoria-OACI , Place-d'Armes , Champ-de-Mars and Berri-UQAM . Place-d'Armes, Champ-de-Mars and Square-Victoria-OACI stations would usually be considered as in Old Montreal. Berri-UQAM
168-689: Is also home to the main campuses of McGill University and UQAM and the Sir George Williams campus of Concordia University . The Statistics Canada article Defining Canada’s Downtown Neighbourhoods: 2016 Boundaries counted 88,169 people, and 299,245 jobs. The population density was approximately 66 people per hectare, while the job density was 226 jobs per hectare. Most recently, the 2021 Canadian census counted 109,509 people living within Downtown Montreal's boundaries, an increase of 21,340 people. This 24.2 percent increase
196-475: Is also the terminus for Line 4 (Yellow) . Air Canada was formerly headquartered in Downtown Montreal. In 1990, the airline announced that it was moving its headquarters from Downtown Montreal to Montreal-Trudeau Airport to cut costs. Portions of four university-level establishments lie within Downtown Montreal: the main campus of McGill University , on the northern side of Sherbrooke Street;
224-643: Is known as Viger Tunnel . However, locals regard both tunnels as one, and the term Ville-Marie Tunnel is often used to refer to both tunnels. It was originally envisioned that Autoroute 20 would extend from the Turcot Interchange , along the route of the 720, to the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel . Indeed, when the first section of the expressway was constructed and opened in the early 1970s, many Montrealers, anticipating that it would eventually replace
252-691: Is more strictly in Old Montreal . Notable religious buildings in Downtown Montreal include: Christ Church Cathedral , Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul , Church of St. John the Evangelist , Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral , St. James the Apostle Anglican Church , St. James United Church , St. George's Anglican Church and St. Patrick's Basilica . The Bell Centre , used for ice hockey and other events, lies in
280-607: The Metropolitan Expressway as the primary connector route to the Lafontaine Tunnel, and onward to Quebec City , dubbed the then-unnamed roadway the "Downtown Trans-Canada Highway ". The provincial transport ministry (Le ministère des Transports du Québec, or MTQ) had planned to extend the Viger Tunnel east to Autoroute 25 at its Souligny Avenue interchange. The right-of-way has existed since
308-536: The Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM) services. Additional commuter services use Lucien-L'Allier Station . Downtown Montreal also contains two bus stations: Gare d'autocars de Montréal serves mainly longer distance services, while Terminus Centre-Ville is mainly a terminus for services operated by RTL and Exo . Two lines of the Montreal Metro run east–west through Downtown Montreal. Line 1 (Green)
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#1732783624198336-632: The North of Pine Avenue at the edge of Downtown Montreal. Public space in Downtown Montreal includes the following squares: Cabot Square , Chaboillez Square , Dorchester Square , Norman Bethune Square , Phillips Square , Place du Canada , Place Émilie-Gamelin , Place des Festivals , Place Jean-Paul Riopelle and Victoria Square . Two railway stations are in Downtown Montreal: Central Station serves both intercity ( VIA Rail and Amtrak ) and commuter rail services of
364-554: The Sir George Williams Campus of Concordia University in an area identified as Quartier Concordia in the western part of Downtown Montreal; École de technologie supérieure (a part of Université du Québec system) located near the southern edge of Downtown Montreal; and Université du Québec à Montréal , mainly in the Quartier Latin neighbourhood. Four colleges (pre-university) also lie in downtown:
392-465: The borough of Ville-Marie . It is bounded by Mount Royal Park to the north, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal to the northeast, the Quartier Latin and Gay Village areas to the east, Old Montreal and the Cité du Multimédia to the south, Griffintown and Little Burgundy to the southwest, and the city of Westmount to the west. The downtown region houses many corporate headquarters as well a large majority of
420-621: The central/southern portion of Downtown Montreal. Place des Arts is located in the eastern part of the city's downtown, between Ste-Catherine and de Maisonneuve Streets, and St-Urbain and Jeanne-Mance streets, in an area now known as the Quartier des Spectacles , the complex is home to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra , Les Grands Ballets Canadiens , and the Opéra de Montréal . Percival Molson Memorial Stadium lies just to
448-507: The city's skyscrapers — which, by law, cannot be greater in height than Mount Royal in order to preserve the aesthetic predominance and intimidation factor of the mountain. The two tallest of these are the 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque , both of which were built in 1992. The Tour de la Bourse is also a significant high-rise and is home to the Montreal Exchange that trades in derivatives . The Montreal Exchange
476-461: The district of Outremont and the eastern portion belonging to Laurier—Sainte-Marie . All three of these seats are currently held by members of the Liberal Party , with the former two in particular being safe Liberal seats. Provincially, the downtown core is split in three pieces along similar boundaries, being mostly in the district of Westmount—Saint-Louis , with a small northern area in
504-468: The highway having reduced lane sizes following the reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange . The entire route is located in Montréal . Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal ( French : Centre-Ville de Montréal ) is the central business district of Montreal , Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal , and occupies the western portion of
532-565: The original layout of the A-720, and buildings along the extension were demolished at that time, even though the 720 was not completed due to cost constraints. The government of Montreal instead converted the portion of Rue Notre Dame east of the Jacques Cartier Bridge into a six-lane urban boulevard , rather than continue a sunken limited-access expressway. The final project was approved, and work began on Souligny Avenue to double
560-476: The provincial Mont-Royal—Outremont riding and the eastern areas being in Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques . The former two of these districts are current and safe seats for the Liberal Party of Quebec , while Sainte-Marie—Saint-Jacques is held by Manon Massé , one of the leaders of Québec solidaire . 1250 Ren%C3%A9-L%C3%A9vesque 1250 René-Lévesque , formerly known as the "IBM-Marathon Tower,"
588-403: The public Cégep du Vieux Montréal on Ontario Street East ; and the private colleges LaSalle College , O'Sullivan College and National Theatre School of Canada , including Monument-National , the venue used for its productions. Downtown Montreal is mostly in the federal electoral district of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs , with some areas in the north around Mount Royal being in
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#1732783624198616-505: The residential periphery, while the east facade features a curved glass curtain wall facing the city center, giving a light, suspended effect. A spire extends along the building’s north side, reaching 31 meters beyond the rooftop, aligning with Mount Royal's peak elevation. Inside, a four-story atrium with a bamboo winter garden, food court, and conference rooms creates a welcoming space. The building connects to Montreal’s Underground City and Bonaventure metro station. Initially positioned as
644-622: The river, and the Monteregian Hills . On clear days the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York are visible (the great-circle distance between Mount Royal and the U.S. border along a bee line normal to the border being only ~ 56 km, or ~ 35 miles), as are the Green Mountains of Vermont . The eastern lookout has a view of The Plateau neighbourhood, Olympic Stadium and beyond. Downtown Montreal
672-422: The road below. This incident occurred at a time with little traffic and no vehicles were damaged. Several construction workers were on site at the time and were unharmed. The tunnel had to be closed for repair of the roof and several other parts of the tunnel. Transport Minister Sam Hamad announced on Friday, August 5 that the tunnel would re-open the following day. In 2021, the A-720 was renamed to Route 136 due to
700-604: The span of the travel lanes. In 2007, working crews for Transports Québec discovered major cracks in a support pillar and closed several lanes of the expressway. Transports Quebec announced on August 10, 2007, major repair projects for a large section of the Expressway west of the Ville-Marie tunnel. On July 31, 2011, part of the roof of the Ville-Marie Tunnel collapsed, sending large chunks of concrete to
728-494: Was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and completed in 1992. It was constructed between 1988 and 1992 as a project led by IBM and Marathon Realty with an investment of $ 250 million to consolidate IBM’s operations in Montreal, relocating 1,000 employees from Place Ville Marie. The building’s location in downtown Montreal serves as a visual boundary between the commercial center and the historically residential west side,
756-693: Was originally a stock exchange and was the first in Canada. In 1999, all stock trades were transferred to Toronto in exchange for an exclusivity in the derivative trading market. Place Ville-Marie is a cruciform office tower designed by I.M. Pei . It was built in 1962, and sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's underground city , one of the world's largest. It has indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as metro stations , train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown
784-538: Was the second-fastest growth within downtowns in Canada after Downtown Halifax . The population density increased from approximately 66 people per hectare in 2016 to approximately 82 people per hectare in 2021 . A number of museums can be found in or near Downtown Montreal, including the Canadian Centre for Architecture , McCord Museum , Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art , Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Redpath Museum . Pointe-à-Callière Museum
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