One day after some drivers were stranded for upwards of 10 hours on snow-covered highways west of Calgary, RCMP are again warning drivers to stay off highways.
READ MORE: Drivers stranded for over 10 hours on Highway 1 near Canmore after massive snowfall
Roads and highways in southern Alberta are covered in heavy, wet snow. Cochrane RCMP said on Wednesday there were extreme winter driving conditions on highways west of Cochrane.
Police said as of 9 a.m., Highway 1A between Morley Road and Highway 1X was impassable with vehicles stuck on the road and in the ditch. An update from the government-run 511 Alberta Twitter account said the road was closed because of several jackknifed semis.
RCMP said driving was not recommended on Highway 1A west of Cochrane. Anyone who had to venture out in that area was urged to prepared for the winter driving conditions and give themselves plenty of time to get to their destination.
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Parts of Calgary have reported snowfall amounts of more than 30 centimetres in a 12-hour period with similar amounts in the mountain parks and other areas of southern Alberta.
The Trans-Canada Highway was closed Tuesday in both directions near Dead Man’s Flats, which is between Canmore and Calgary. Those stranded on the road estimated hundreds of drivers were stuck, both on the highway and in the ditch, for hours. Overnight, RCMP escorted stranded motorists to the warming centre at the Canmore high school.
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511 Alberta said the westbound lanes of Highway 1 re-opened at around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday, but the eastbound lanes remain closed as of 9:30 a.m.
Many drivers were stuck in Canmore and Banff because of the closures.
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