Project to Build an Access Road in the Northern Village of Kuujjuaraapik

The Northern Village of Kuujjuaraapik and the Whapmagoostui Cree Nation have been using the same trench landfill for solid waste since the 1950s. The trench landfill is located within the municipal limits of Kuujjuaraapik, close to the airport and to both communities. In addition to having nearly reached its capacity, the landfill poses a risk to air navigation because of the increased presence of birds at the location. In addition, the smoke from burning waste, which is done to reduce the amount of garbage destined for the landfill, has a great impact on the communities’ air quality.
The two communities have therefore identified the need to open a new landfill to replace this site.
The new site will be accessed by the main road, from which an access road of approximately 1.5 km will be built through Category I Inuit lands and then through Category IA Cree lands.
The access road to the new landfill site is 1.5 km long and crosses approximately 600 m of Class I Inuit land and then Class IA Cree land. It will be used to transport waste, metal, contaminated soils and heavy equipment to the landfill and metal and contaminated-soil storage site.

The Northern Village of Kuujjuaraapik wishes to proceed with developing the approximately 600-m section of the road located on its territory. The road will have a total right-of-way of 19 m, including 7 m of road surface (two lanes) and two, 6-m areas on each side, including a shoulder and a ditch. From the bottom to its surface, the road will be composed of a geotextile membrane, a layer of MG-112 crushed gravel and a layer of MG-20, the thickness of which will depend on natural conditions (rock, till or sand). The road segment located in Kuujjuaraapik crosses three temporary watercourses, thus necessitating the construction of three culverts. Ramps will be built at crossings with some all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and snowmobile trails. The project does not include any quarry or borrow pit development, and granular material required for the project will be extracted from an existing borrow pit near Whapmagoostui.