thumb|500px|autoroutes of quÃ©bec. blue: autoroutes as of 2013, orange: under construction or in official plans, grey: non-controlled access extensions the autoroute system is a network of expressways within the province of quebec, canada, operating under the same principle of controlled access as the interstate highway system in the united states or the 400-series highways in neighbouring ontario. the autoroutes are the backbone of quebec's highway system, spanning over 1,900&nbsp;km. the speed limit on quebec's autoroutes is generally  in rural areas and  in urban areas. the word autoroute is a portmanteau of auto and route, translating roughly to highway in english, and has become the quebec french equivalent of "expressway". in the 1950s, when the first autoroutes were being planned, the design documents called them autostrades, from the italian word autostrada. ==signage== autoroutes are identified by blue-and-red shields. the red header of the shield contains a white image representing a highway overpass, and the blue lower portion of the shield contains the autoroute's number in white, along with a fleur-de-lis, which is a provincial symbol of quebec. most autoroute signs in the province are in french, though english is used on federally-financed or -owned routes, such as the bonaventure expressway in montreal. to surmount the language barrier, however, most signs in quebec use pictograms and text is avoided in most cases, with the exceptions usually only being the names of control cities. other exceptions that are posted in both languages is the illegal use of radar detectors when entering the province that reads "radar detectors prohibited", as well as areas where roads can be slippery due to melting ice and snow, marked "degel / thaw". ===autoroute shields=== image:quebec autoroute 5.svg|1 digit autoroute shield image:quebec autoroute 40.svg|2 digit autoroute shield image:quebec autoroute 720.svg|3 digit autoroute shield ==numbering system== thumb|left|150px|standard autoroute shield thumbnail|300px|autoroute 15 northbound, near brossard. autoroutes are divided into three types &ndash; principal routes, deviation routes, and collector routes &ndash; and are laid out and numbered in a fashion similar to the interstate highway system in the united states. the principal autoroutes are the
Lists_of_roads_in_Quebec Quebec_Autoroutes