A wild single-vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer forced the closure of the eastbound lanes of the TransCanada Highway through Calgary Sunday morning.
Calgary Police said no one was injured in the collision near Winsport, which happened shortly after 7 a.m.
A large gap in the concrete barrier could be seen where it appears the semi crashed through into a lane under construction, as it headed east on 16 Avenue NW, just past Stoney Trail.
The truck lost both trailer axles as it skidded sideways about 100 metres beyond the gap, coming to rest perpendicular to the crushed concrete blocks below it.
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The barrier pierced the side of the trailer to reveal a load of trees inside.
Police closed eastbound 16 Avenue NW at Stoney Trail and the southbound ramp from Stoney Trail onto eastbound 16 Avenue NW to investigate.
Drivers were encouraged to use alternate routes.
The closures were expected to last about two hours.
Emergency crews remained at the scene until 12 p.m.
The cause of the collision has not been determined but police believe driver error and weather are likely to blame.
Police said it was very lucky the road was empty due to time of day and a multi-vehicle pile up was avoided.
The truck was hauling cedar trees, which were emptied out of the truck manually after the incident and reloaded into a new truck while the wreck was hauled off the road.
The truck left Banff this morning and was headed to Toronto.