Rare May snowstorm shut down James Bay Highway for a day and a half

The James Bay Highway, a 620 kilometre long road and a vital link for coastal Cree communities in Quebec, was closed for much of Sunday and Monday because of heavy snow and freezing rain.  

The highway was closed Sunday at 8 a.m. and didn't reopen until almost 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Jean Nouvellet, the director of Infrastructure for the Société de développement de la Baie-James, the body which oversees the road, says conditions were challenging and very unusual.

"We can always have snow that can fall in May, but it doesn't stay on the road, because the road is warm enough and the snow melts," said Nouvellet.

"That didn't happen this time, so we had winter road conditions, real winter roads conditions on the 15th of May."

Part of the problem, according to Nouvellet, is that the contract for snow removal on the highway ended on April 30, so it was difficult to find someone to clear it.

"The problem is that most of the contractors remove the snow removal equipment from their trucks after the 30th of April," said Nouvellet.

"They are using their trucks for other things. We managed to find some contractors who could get their trucks back on the road."

Nouvellet says conditions were particularly bad between kilometre 135 and 150 near Waskaganish and by kilometre 381 near Eastmain. In some areas, about 20 centimetres of snow fell and then changed to freezing rain.

'Please wait'

Angela Salt Sam was on her way to Val-d'Or on Sunday, and her husband was travelling ahead of her in another vehicle.

She says the trip from Chisasibi usually takes three hours, but it took them more than five hours. Rather than returning to Chisasibi, the pair stayed put in Val-d'Or overnight as a precaution.

"Please wait for the road conditions to get better," Salt Sam advised other motorists.  

"I already told myself that I will not go on the road when it's closed and that the insurance doesn't cover when conditions are this bad. It's better for people to wait for conditions to get better."

Nouvellet says the question of when snow removal contracts should end is considered when they're negotiated every three to five years.

"It is hard to know what is behind the weather conditions we see," said Nouvellet. "We are continuously asking ourselves, every time we renegotiate a contract 'Is this the right date to end?'"

It's not expected to warm up in the area until midday Tuesday. Nouvellet is advising people to drive with caution, particularly if they've already taken the winter tires off their vehicles.