Drivers sound alarm after deep potholes set off airbag on James Bay Highway

Drivers along the James Bay highway in Northern Quebec say it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt by potholes deep enough to trigger an airbag.

Jerry House was travelling north on the highway with his brother, sister and 70-year-old mother around 7 p.m. on April 29 when their car hit a pothole between kilometres 134 and 136.

"It sounded like a shotgun went off," he said.

There were no warning signs, House said, and his brother was driving the speed limit, between 90 and 100 km/h. He also said his brother couldn't avoid the pothole because of an oncoming 18-wheeler.

"At first we were shocked when the airbags went off. My sister was not injured and as for me, (I) had a big bruise on my right shoulder," he said.

House ended up needing an X-ray to make sure he wasn't injured more seriously.

He is still waiting for the final repair bill for his vehicle, but was told it will be close to $2,000.

"I'm just glad no one got hurt and I'm especially glad my mom didn't sit on the right side of the vehicle," he said.

'It almost threw me on the other side of the road'

Just the day before, Sandra Mianscum Icebound from the Cree community of Waswanipiwas also driving north on the James Bay Highway in the early morning hours near kilometre 106.

She was taking three of her grandchildrento Waskaganish for the Goose Break holidaya time when Cree families head out on the land to hunt geese returning to the territory. It was 3:30 a.m. and the children were asleep in the minivan, along with her son and another child, she said.

• In Northern Quebec, Goose Break holiday connects Cree youth with culture

"There was no marker on the road,"Mianscum Icebound said, adding the pothole blew both of the right side tires of her vehicle and bent the rims. "It almost threw me on the other side of the road. Good thing there was no car coming."

The 55-year-old saidthe group had to wait on the side of the highway until 7:30 that morning for a tow truck to take them to the nearest community of Matagami.

"They should fix the potholes for the safety of our children and grandchildren that are traveling there often," said Mianscum Icebound, adding she worries someone will eventually get hurt.

Mianscum Icebound had to rent a vehicle to continue the trip and leave her minivan behind for repairs, at a total cost of $900.

The James Bay Highway is 620 kilometres long and serves more than 11 thousand people, including several Cree communities, accordingto the Socit de dveloppement de la BaieJames (SDBJ), which owns and maintains the road on behalf of the Quebec Transport Ministry and Hydro Quebec.

The poor state of the road is the subject of much discussion on social media, wherea Facebook page has been dedicatedto road conditions and warning other travellers where the worstpotholes are.

Raymond Thibault, the chief executive officer of the SDBJ, admits the highway is in rough and even dangerous shape in some spots. He said crews have been out since the beginning of May doing temporary repairs with cold asphalt, but people should still drive carefully.

"The type of repairs we are doing are temporary," said Thibault, adding that after a day or two of rain the repairs need to be redone. "I recommend that people drive with caution."

Thibault did say more permanent help is on the way at the section of the highway where both House and Mianscum Icebound had issues.

In 2017, the federal and provincial governments announced it was investing more than $265 million dollars to repair and repave close to half the surface of the James Bay Highway between now and 2021.

• $265M in repairs, upgrades announced for James Bay Highway

Thibault said the work slated for this year includes $60 million to replace more than 60 culverts and repave more than 118 kilometres, including the section between kilometres 88 and 200. A total of 11 bridges will also be repaired and repaved and guard rails replaced between kilometres 120 and 200.

The work is expected to begin near the end of June, according to Thibault.

In the meantime, he invites people to reportwhere the worst potholes are located to the SDBJ.