WHAT
TO MONTRÉAL
New 25-mile (38 kilometer) segment of Québec’s Autoroute 35 now under construction
Saint-Jeansur-Richelieu
WHEN
Section between Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Sébastien due to open this fall.
4
WHY
Will remove as many as 18,600 vehicles per day from Route 133, including more than 2,200 trucks.
11
COST
3
$460 million (in 2010 Canadian dollars)
Sabrevois
TIME SAVINGS
9
10-20 minutes in travel between U.S./Canada border and Montréal
Y
VON LABONTÉ, general manager of BEDFORD (population 2,600) has watched for years as his hometown has steadily aged and declined, losing younger residents and businesses to larger communities. In 2009, the town suffered a major economic hit when a longtime needle manufacturing plant closed, putting 200 employees out of work. “All small towns have the same problems,” Labonté said. “With the big markets, people go to Walmart, they go to Target, and the small stores here close because they cannot compete. It’s bad because we lose everything, always a little more, a little more, to try to keep our business here.” But Labonté expressed hope that A-35 will revitalize Bedford as a bedroom community for Montréal, cutting as much as 20 minutes off the commute. He also suggested that A-35 will be good for Jay Peak and other Vermont resorts. “When it takes only one hour to go skiing there, [Montréalers] will go,” he said. “So I think it will be good for you, too.” — K.P.
1
Henryville
6
10
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
Source: Ministère des Transports du Québec
5 1
SaintSébastien
Bedford
06.11.14-06.18.14
8
QUEBEC
2 Saint-Armand
7
LA ROUTE LESS TRAVELED
» P.33
FEATURE 31
VERMONT
A
drove of horses never fails to watch cars as they speed through SAINT-ARMAND, just a few minutes north of the U.S. border. They stare fixedly, never stopping to toss their heads, whinny or blink. The herd of grown horses and a foal, most chestnut with black manes, are not alive. They never were. They’re fiberglass, made by Bernadette Hébert-Guillotte. The artist airbrushes the deceptively realistic horses at an industrial park in nearby Delson. Several large signs mounted in front of her house — including a phone number — advertise her business to passersby. Whether anyone has ever called with a pressing need for a fiberglass horse, we can’t say. — A.L.
SEVEN DAYS
2 Lake Champlain