UPDATE: Hwy. 402 open following three days of closures

Hwy. 402 has reopened in both directions Sunday, after it was closed for three days due to poor weather conditions.

Whiteout conditions and poor visibility were to blame for the ongoing closure of the highway between Hwy. 401 in London and Nauvoo Road in Watford.

Middlesex OPP had originally planned to reopen the highway by noon Friday, but a collision on Egremont Road and white out conditions had delayed the reopening until sometime Saturday, before continued bad weather forced OPP to delay the reopening further.

“We were anticipating to have it opened around midday, but we cannot control the weather and we are still experiencing heavy snow and whiteout conditions in the area,” said Const. Max Gomez with the Middlesex OPP.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We were anticipating to have it opened around midday, but we cannot control the weather and we are still experiencing heavy snow and whiteout conditions in the area," said Const. Max Gomez with the Middlesex OPP.

Gomez says Egremont Road was being used to reroute traffic off of Highway 402. Egremont is now closed between Arkona Road and Sexton Road.

“There’s no reports of any serious injuries, however because they are transport trucks we need to wait for a heavy tow to remove this,” said Gomez.

He recommends to avoid the area completely.

“The detour options in this area are now limited because Egremont and the 402 run parallel to each other.”

Gomez says about three of four vehicles and a transport truck were stranded on the highway overnight, with several more scattered on secondary routes. He says most of the vehicles have been removed, and remarkably there were no injuries reported.

A warming centre was set up at Strathroy’s Gemini Sportsplex Thursday evening for stranded travelers, with 62 people staying overnight.

“Some of them were not with their cars, some of them had to be taken from their cars but most people had their vehicle with them. They ended up at the Tim Horton’s over by 402 at 81, ” Strathroy-Caradoc Mayor Joanne Vanderheyden told 980 CFPL.

“We as a municipality decided to be prepared because we saw how much snow was coming, so we already had cots and everything over at the Gemini.”

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Vanderheyden added that the municipality as a whole was well-prepared.

“Our road crews were out there, our Strathroy-Caradoc police force was doing their job, the fire department was totally aware of the people we had there – matter of fact the chief was helping at the centre. The salvation army was there. We had a number of local businesses that came out.”

The need is not expected to be as great as it was Thursday night, but the Gemini Sportsplex will remain open as long as necessary.

More snow and cold temperatures are in the forecast for Friday. White conditions has caused visibility issues, particularly west of London, which is why the highway remains closed.

Environment Canada has issued a snow squall warning for London, Parkhill, Strathroy, Komoka, and Middlesex County.

Stay with 980 CFPL for the latest on this developing story.