Heavy snow makes for 'slick' commute on Alberta highways
Drivers across northern and central Alberta dealt with dicey conditions Friday after an overnight snowstorm made roads and highways slick.
There were reports of fender-benders and vehicles in the ditch on roads and highways throughout the province, and Edmonton was no exception.
Between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m., a total of 189 collisions were reported on city roads, Edmonton police said.
The total included 17 hit-and-run collisions, 12 injury collisions and 160 property-damage collisions.
As of Friday morning, snowfall warnings remained in effect for communities across northern Alberta, including Spruce Grove, Leduc, Wetaskiwin, Morinville, Red Deer, Ponoka, Devon and Rimbey.
By late Friday morning, 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected to fall in some areas, with isolated pockets of 20 centimetres of snow possible, Environment Canada said.
There are reports of several accidents and vehicles in the ditch on Highway 16, east and west of Edmonton. The latest real-time road conditions are available on 511 Alberta.
"With snow and blowing snow, highway conditions are not ideal," Wayne Wood, a spokesperson with Alberta Transportation said Friday in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.
"Blowing snow will slick up the highways."
In Edmonton, road crews are focused on clearing snow from high volume roads and major bus routes, said Andrew Grant, infrastructure operations supervisor with the city.
"City conditions are coming around," Grant said Friday.
Due to poor road conditions, Wolf Creek Public Schools in Ponoka, south of Edmonton, will not be operating school buses Friday. All schools in the division will be closed, a news release stated.
The Parkland School Division, operated out of Stony Plain west of Edmonton, has cancelled its buses. However, schools in the division are open.
