Le choix du tout-à-l'automobile à Montréal (1953-1967) : 
un contexte propice à l’aménagement de l'échangeur Turcot
Within a decade, Montréal was permanently transformed. From the mid-1950s, where it represented a developed city but was devoid of highways, to 1967, the year of the World Expo, Québec confirmed that its priority was the automobile. The motorway development realized at that time had to meet the short and long term needs of its society. This network still exists today. It is necessary to analyze this time period to understand how Montréal adopted such a policy so rapidly. This thesis addresses the postwar elements central to Montréal’s policies which focused and brought to the forefront the theme of traffic circulation in the metropolis. The authorities' response to traffic, and their will to plan the city according to long-term needs, provoked a major metropolitan highway development that reached its pinnacle in 1967 with the accomplishment of the Turcot Interchange. Built in the 1960s, the Turcot Interchange was the result of a particular economic situation, a manifestation of the era’s needs and expectations. The analysis conducted in this thesis provides a thorough examination of the history of this major highway project, which was a strong symbol of Montréal and Québec’s modernization scheme. In recent years, this infrastructure project has been back in the limelight as projects for a new Turcot Interchange commenced in 2007, marking the second act of this space's revitalization and modernization. However, does this renewed Turcot Interchange correspond adequately to the needs of a modern twenty-first century metropolis?
Montréal Turcot Automobile Circulation Transports Highways Montreal Turcot Traffic Mobility Transports Urban planning Advanced modernity Urban history Automobile