Drivers on Saskatchewan highways still dealing with poor road conditions

The winter storm that slammed into Saskatchewan on Tuesday was still wreaking havoc on the province’s highways Wednesday.

At around 9:30 a.m., the Trans-Canada Highway was closed from Regina to Moose Jaw due to icy conditions with drifting snow and zero visibility. There also were two crashes on that stretch of road before the highway was closed.

The White Butte RCMP said it was on the scene of a collision and traffic backup in the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada approximately 10 kilometres east of Pense. Both lanes of travel were blocked and there was “a long, currently multi-kilometre backup of vehicles at a standstill.”

“It’s backed up for several kilometres so there’s likely a significant number of vehicles that are out there at this time,” RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier said.

The RCMP is asking drivers to stay off the highway between Moose Jaw and Regina.

“Emergency responders are actually turning motorists back from travelling on the eastbound lanes at the Moose Jaw Highway 39 (offramp) just so tow trucks can actually get to the scene to open the roadway and clear those vehicles that are at a standstill,” said Maier.

There also were crashes on the Regina Bypass at the junction with Highway 33, and on Highway 7 at the town of Laura.

Travel wasn’t recommended on the Trans-Canada from Balgonie to the junction with Highway 35, and on Highway 11 from Regina to Lumsden.

In Regina, dozens of truckers were stranded at the Esso truck stop in the east end of the city early Wednesday because the highways were closed overnight.

It was a cold night with very difficult conditions, but not all of them were bothered by it.

In his 33-year career, Dennis Damour said he has seen much worse weather.

“(This ranks) low,” he said. “I’ve seen bigger ones (and) been in bigger ones than that. It’s just that the highway’s closed, so you can’t go anywhere.

“It’s just natural. It is winter, so if it happens, it happens.”

Stuart Pickett was caught a bit more off-guard.

“I started down in North Dakota (on Tuesday), and it was beautiful weather,” he said. “I didn’t see any snow, (only) blue skies. As soon as I got up by Estevan, it was just a whiteout. I couldn’t see a thing. I showed up after dark, and I just wasn’t expecting that.”

He has been in the business for seven years, and he also thinks he has seen worse.

“(It’s) middle of the road,” Pickett said. “I’ve seen some really nasty storms.”

That being said, it doesn’t make it any easier when your work gets put on hold because of a massive storm.

“Some days it’s very frustrating; it can be. But there’s not much we can do, that’s the bottom line,” he said.

The Regina Police Service said it was called to 22 collisions involving damage to vehicles or other property from noon Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday. No one was injured in any of the collisions.

The RCMP said that between midnight Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday, officers from Saskatchewan detachments were sent to 79 collisions and 28 reports of traffic hazards, including vehicles that were stuck or abandoned.

According to SGI, 275 auto claims and 36 property damage claims had been made between midnight Tuesday and 11:30 a.m. Wednesday due to the blizzard.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Dominick Lucyk and Andrew Shepherd