Road to the James Bay coast to close for the season

The James Bay coast will be a little more isolated after this weekend.

The Wetum winter road that runs from Smooth Rock Falls on Highway 11 to Moose Factory will close for the season on Sunday.

Peter Wesley, the director of properties management for the Moose Cree Group of Companies, says at 10 weeks, this was their longest season ever.

However, he says the road is starting to become unsafe.

"Starting to see a lot of brown spots where the grass and moss underneath is starting to show," he said.

"Even though it's very cold, it's starting to show signs."

The road allows people on the coast to come and go freely, but it has also been criticized for allowing drugs and alcohol to come north.

Wesley says he has noticed a lot more police on the winter road this season.

"I think it's a good thing to have the police on there," he said.

"It gives you another level of comfort to know that it's being patrolled and watched and that people are looking out for each other as well."

There has long been talk of building a permanent road to the James Bay coast, but those plans have been on the drawing board for years.

The James Bay ice road that runs along the coast from Moosonee to Attawapiskat is still open to traffic.