EDMONTON – Heavy snow is hitting Edmonton hard and wreaking havoc on city streets.
Police say 23rd Avenue westbound from 119 Street to Rabbit Hill Road, and eastbound on Hodgson Way to 119 Street is closed due to icy road conditions. The roadway is being closed as vehicles are having difficulty getting traction. No collisions have been reported at that location, though.
Highway 216 Northbound, north of Baseline Road to Highway 16 has been closed to traffic, as of 3:00p.m. A collision involving a semi truck has forced the closure. Traffic is being re-routed and officers are asking motorists to avoid the area, if possible. RCMP say the highway is expected to be closed until about 6 p.m.
Motorists area also being advised to avoid Fox Drive westbound from Whitemud Dr., where similar issues have been reported.
Other hilly areas of the city are also seeing problems.
Buses that run down Connors Road were being unloaded at the top of the hill because of dangerous whiteout conditions for a number of hours Wednesday, said Edmonton Transit spokeswoman Patricia Dickson. What began as average delays of 25 minutes on bus routes, turned into up to two and a half hour delays by noon.
Due to the extreme weather conditions, many of Edmonton Public Schools’ bus carriers are predicting delays in afternoon service. You can find up to date information on that here. The Edmonton Catholic School District is also warning parents that there may be delays this afternoon. However, the buses are still operating. If you have any questions, you can contact transportation services at 780 441-6078.
Bus cancellations for Thursday have been announced by the Parkland School Division. All buses operated by Parkland School Division Number #70, which includes services to Evergreen Catholic, Devon Christian, St.Mathew’s, Living Waters, Black Gold School Division, Wild Rose School Division whose residence reside in Parkland County, City Of Spruce Grove, Town of Stony Plain, and Devon have been cancelled for Thursday, November 8th, 2012. However, school officials say schools will remain open.
Just before 12 p.m., Concordia University told Global News it’s cancelling Wednesday’s and sending everyone home due to the weather. Norquest College announced on Facebook that it is canceling its afternoon and evening classes as well. King’s University College later said it will be canceling its classes too.
Officers are advising if you don’t have to be anywhere today, to please stay home. If you can leave work early, you are encouraged to do so to avoid congestion and the delays, and to exercise caution.
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Between 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., city police responded to 201 property damage collisions and 12 injury collisions, according to EPS spokesperson Chad Orydzuk.
“The weather as it is is forcing people to slow down,” said EPS Spokesperson Lisa Sobchyshyn. “But the hills are what’s challenging people.”
The City of Edmonton said, following the snowfall that began Wednesday morning, City crews have started plowing and sanding on priority routes and intersections. There are 75 pieces of equipment working on Edmonton streets to ensure that roads are in maintained in good winter driving conditions.
As of 1p.m., there have been a few small power outages reported around the city. There is one major reported power outage, however, affecting 2,500 customers after a car hit a transformer. Crews are on scene trying to repair it as quickly as possible.
EPCOR’s Tim LeRiche has said that with heavy snow, expect outages
“People should be prepared with their 24-hour safety kit…if they don’t have one they should be prepared and get one together.”
The Edmonton region can expect anywhere between 10 and 25 cm of snow Wednesday as a low pressure system moves through central Alberta. The snowfall warning extends from Vegreville west to the B.C. border.
St. Albert has already reported 18 centimetres of snow since early this morning. St. Albert Transit suspended all local service for most of the day Wednesday. Modified local service resumed around 4 p.m. on some roadways however, due to poor road conditions some neighoubourhoods remain inaccessible. Commuter service between Edmonton and St. Albert is still running but, it is delayed.
Drivers stuck on Edmonton roads can expect tow times of around three hours, said Alberta Motor Association spokesman Don Szarko.
Expect fair to poor road conditions around the city, with better conditions in the south of Edmonton, Szarko said. Motorists should slow down and increase their following distance to avoid accidents.
“People are just travelling too fast for conditions, not leaving enough distance between them and the vehicle in front of them,” he said.
He also advised drivers to install winter tires, if they haven’t done so already.
Tweets forwarded by the Alberta Motor Association indicate whiteout conditions on Highway 15 from Edmonton to Fort Saskatchewan, with traffic at a “snail pace and very deadly,” and Highway 28 “is a mess with vehicles in the ditch and icy roads.”
Other Edmontonians are also weighing in on the weather conditions.
According to Environment Canada, the snowfall will begin to taper off by the evening as the low pressure system moves into Saskatchewan. A cold front behind the low will drop southward spreading snow into southern Alberta and drawing colder Arctic air into central Alberta.
On the plus side, an earlier warning of freezing rain has been cancelled.
Below, you can see a gallery of some of the slick and snowy streets.
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