The James Bay Road (French : Route de la Baie James), officially the Billy-Diamond Highway (French : Route Billy-Diamond), is a remote wilderness highway winding its way through the Canadian Shield in northwestern Quebec and reaches into the James Bay region. It starts in Matagami as an extension of Route 109 and ends at Radisson. The road is fully paved, well maintained, and plowed during the winter. It was originally constructed to carry loads of 300 tons and has mostly gentle curves and hills with wide shoulders. [1] The road is maintained by the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government (formerly by the municipality of Baie-James). Connecting to other routes such as the Trans-Taiga Road and the Route du Nord, the highway draws tourists interested in reaching the remote wilderness surrounding James Bay, part of Hudson Bay.
On November 10, 2020, the James Bay Road was renamed in honour of Billy Diamond, former Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and chief Cree negotiator of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. [2]
There is currently[ when? ] a proposal supported by the region's Cree communities to build a gravel extension some 250 kilometres (160 mi) farther north to the twin communities on the Great Whale River: the Cree village of Whapmagoostui and the northern (primarily Inuit) village of Kuujjuarapik, in the Nunavik region.
The James Bay Road was conceived as an access road for the hydroelectric projects developed in the James Bay region in the 1970s and onwards. Construction began in 1971 and was completed in October 1974. Gravel branch routes have since been built from the highway, including four roads west to Cree villages on or near James Bay (the one to Chisasibi is paved for most of the way). The Trans-Taiga Road (French: Route Transtaïga) was built and reached Caniapiscau in 1979. The 406 kilometres (252 mi) long Route du Nord (North Road), which also is not a numbered route, connects from km 275 (measured from Matagami) southeast to near Chibougamau, Quebec.
There are no services and development along the James Bay Road except for a full-service station at 381 kilometres (237 mi) from Matagami. The station, located at kilometre marker 381, is operational 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and is complete with a cafeteria and rudimentary lodging.
Because of the remote nature of the road, there is a registration office along the side of the road for travellers to register. Located a few kilometers north of Matagami, it is staffed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and also serves as a tourist office for the communities along or off the James Bay Road.
As further safety provisions, there are six roadside emergency telephones, which connect with staff in the registration office.
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(February 2023) |
Km | Mi | |
---|---|---|
0 | 0 | Matagami, km 0 marker for James Bay Road |
6 | 3.7 | Checkpoint for registration office |
135 | 83.9 | Emergency telephone |
201 | 125 | Emergency telephone |
232 | 144 | Bridge crossing the Broadback River |
237 | 147 | Junction with road to Waskaganish, 102 km (63 mi) west |
247 | 153 | Emergency telephone |
257 | 160 | Bridge crossing the Rupert River |
275 | 171 | Junction with the North Road, highway through Nemaska (117 km (73 mi) east) to Chibougamau (440 km (270 mi) east) |
301 | 187 | Emergency telephone |
351 | 218 | Junction with road to Eastmain, 103 km (64 mi) west |
381 | 236 | Relais 381, 24-hr service station |
395 | 245 | Bridge crossing the Eastmain River |
411 | 255 | Bridge crossing the Opinaca River |
444 | 276 | Emergency telephone |
504 | 313 | Emergency telephone |
518 | 322 | Junction with road to Wemindji, 96 km (60 mi) west |
544 | 338 | Junction with Trans-Taiga Road, 582 km (362 mi) east to Brisay, and an additional rough 84 km (52 mi) suitable only for four-wheel drive vehicles, no services; the road ends approximately 160 km (99 mi) west from Labrador, near Schefferville, Quebec |
589 | 366 | La Grande Rivière Airport, serving Radisson, Quebec |
600 | 373 | Junction with road to Chisasibi, 90 km (56 mi) west |
617 | 383 | Junction with access road to Radisson, 5 km (3.1 mi) |
620 | 385 | End of road - Hydro-Québec controlled-access roads from here into Robert Bourassa Power Station. |
Nord-du-Québec is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada.
Caniapiscau is a vast unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, part of Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality.
The James Bay Project refers to the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada by state-owned utility Hydro-Québec, and the diversion of neighbouring rivers into the La Grande watershed. It is located between James Bay to the west and Labrador to the east, and its waters flow from the Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield. The project is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. It has cost upwards of US$20 billion to build and has an installed generating capacity of 15.244 GW, at the cost of 7,000 square miles of Cree hunting lands. It has been built since 1974 by James Bay Energy (SDBJ) for Hydro-Québec.
The Caniapiscau Reservoir is a reservoir on the upper Caniapiscau River in the Côte-Nord administrative region of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the largest body of water in Quebec and the second largest reservoir in Canada.
Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the St. Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The western terminus is in Elgin, at the border with New York State south-west of Montreal. Part of this highway is known as the Chemin du Roy, or King's Highway, which is one of the oldest highways in Canada.
Chisasibi is a village and Cree reserved land (TC) on the eastern shore of James Bay, in Eeyou Istchee, an equivalent territory (ET) in Nord-du-Québec, Canada. It is situated on the south shore of La Grande River, less than 10 km (6.2 mi) from the river's mouth. Chisasibi is one of nine Cree villages in the region, and is a member of the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec.
Radisson is a small unconstituted locality situated near the Robert-Bourassa hydroelectric power station on the La Grande River in the James Bay region of Quebec, Canada. Geographically, Radisson is located halfway between the southern and northernmost points in Quebec and is, besides Schefferville, the only non-native town north of the 53rd parallel in this province.
Route 109 is a Quebec provincial highway that runs through the western regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec. It begins at Route 117 in Rivière-Héva, proceeding north approximately 59 km (36.7 mi) to Amos. From there, the highway extends 182 km (113.1 mi) to Matagami, where the road continues northwards as James Bay Road. It is now classified as a municipal road, but the James Bay Road was part of Route 109 until 2002. Consequently, some maps may still identify it as such.
The Municipality of Baie-James was a municipality in northern Quebec, Canada, which existed from 1971 to 2012. Located to the east of James Bay, Baie-James covered 297,332.84 km2 (114,800.85 sq mi) of land, making it the largest incorporated municipality in Canada — only eight unorganized territories were larger. Its territory almost entirely covered the administrative region of Jamésie, although it contained less than five percent of the population. Essentially, it was the remainder of the Jamésie Territory's land after all of the major population centres were removed.
The Trans-Taiga Road is an extremely remote wilderness road in northern Quebec, Canada. It is 582 kilometres (362 mi) long to Centrale Brisay and another 84 kilometres (52 mi) along the Caniapiscau Reservoir, all of it unpaved.
The Route du Nord is an isolated wilderness road in central Quebec, Canada, connecting Chibougamau with the James Bay Road at km 275. It is 407 kilometres (253 mi) long, all of it unpaved. Extensive logging takes place along the southern half of this road.
The Enistustikweyach River is a tributary of Dana Lake in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in the Canadian province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Upaunan River is a tributary of the Enistustikweyach River in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality) in the administrative region of the Nord-du-Québec, in Canadian province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Pauschikushish River Ewiwach is a tributary of Dana Lake in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (municipality), in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in the Canadian province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Matawawaskweyau River is a tributary of the Pauschikushish Ewiwach River in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, Canadian province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Iskaskunikaw River is a tributary of the Pauschikushish Ewiwach River in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, Canadian province of Quebec, Canada.
Olga Lake is a freshwater body crossed by the Waswanipi River and located in the southern part of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), in administrative region of the Nord-du-Québec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Lac au Goéland is a freshwater body of water crossed by the Waswanipi River and is located within Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), within the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Iserhoff River is a tributary of Lake Waswanipi, flowing into Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality) in the area of the Nord-du-Québec, Canadian province of Quebec, Canada.
Eeyou Istchee James Bay is a local municipality in the Jamésie (TE) in administrative region of Nord-du-Québec. Located to the east of James Bay, Eeyou Istchee James Bay covers 283,123.42 km2 (109,314.56 sq mi) of land, making it the largest incorporated municipality in Canada — only eight unorganized territories are larger. Its territory covers almost entirely the Equivalent territory of Jamésie.