Edmonton police investigate fatal crash on Whitemud Drive

Police are investigating the cause of a fatal collision on Whitemud Drive early Monday morning.

The single-vehicle crash happened between 149 Street and Fox Drive at around 4 a.m.

Police believe a car was travelling west when it struck a concrete barrier. The force of the collision ejected the driver and caused the car to catch fire.

The man died at the scene. His identity hasn’t been released.

Police believe speed was a factor in the collision.

Whitemud Drive from Fox Drive to 149 Street was closed for several hours.

Westbound traffic on the Whitemud was diverted onto the Fox Drive turnoff, causing major gridlock on roads around the southside of the city.

Watch below: A deadly crash in southwest Edmonton on Monday led to far-reaching traffic jams through that part of the city. As Vinesh Pratap reports, the traffic jam has some saying it’s time for the city to address the impact of population growth in the southwest part of Edmonton.

1:57 Commuter chaos after deadly southwest Edmonton crash raises traffic questions

The westbound lanes of Whitemud Drive were reopened at around 10:30 a.m.

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The fatal crash took place at one of the busiest traffic locations in the entire city. The Quesnell Bridge on the Whitemud sees nearly 116,000 motorists a day. The morning rush hour incident saw vehicles diverted into the river valley at Fox and Belgravia drives and further east at Terwillegar.

A representative with the city’s traffic network operations said it may some day look at controlling access to the Whitemud with gates. However, a decision on installation will be well into the future.

Acting director Darryl Mullen said there were nearly 20 message boards to warn drivers to stay away from the scene.

“Looking into the future, there could be potential for building on those measures to hopefully have motorists be diverted completely away from Whitemud and not be in that situation where you’re trapped for long periods of time along that major roadway.”

A year ago, with flooding further east at a low point on the Whitemud, control arms were considered for on ramps and rejected as a viable option.

— With files from Scott Johnston, 630 CHED