Sask. highway conditions worsen as spring snowstorm tapers

CBC
·1 min read
A chunk of Highway 11 near Blackstrap was closed for a short period of time early on Friday morning because of the spring snowstorm that swept through the province. (Saskatchewan Highway Hotline - image credit)
A chunk of Highway 11 near Blackstrap was closed for a short period of time early on Friday morning because of the spring snowstorm that swept through the province. (Saskatchewan Highway Hotline - image credit)

Highways conditions are changing minute-by-minute on Friday.

An Alaskan snowstorm sweeping through Saskatchewan is expected to start tapering off on Friday as it enters Manitoba, but areas in central and south Saskatchewan were dumped with snow in the last several days, and highway conditions are poor as a result.

Early on Friday morning Saskatchewan's Highway Hotline said winter conditions existed and did not recommend travel on several highways.

A patch on Highway 11 between Dundurn and Davidson was closed for a short time, according to the hotline, but was later reopened.

Melanie Laine lives in Hanley, which is located within the portion of the temporarily closed highway. She said she has a good view of the highway from her front window.

Traffic was moving slower Friday morning, according to Laine, but trucks were still parked at truck stops, leftover from the day before when road conditions were also poor.

"I guess it probably depends on who the driver is and how comfortable they are, but definitely as they approach our sweet little Blackstrap valley, it could be a different situation," she said.

RCMP members are assisting getting traffic slowly moving, said RCMP Sergeant Donna Zawislak in an email statement.

"Please advise motorists to still use caution as traffic is backed up and road conditions could change at any time."

Laine said she's not heading into work because of the roads, but yesterday when she did make the trek, traffic was backed up for hours.

She said her advice for drivers traveling on Friday is to check social media pages before heading out or to not chance it.

"I'm sure in these situations your company, your boss is probably fairly understanding."

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