The Ontario Provincial Police say there are major delays all across highways in the Greater Toronto Area due to the aftermath of a winter snowstorm that hit southern Ontario.
The OPP are calling it an “Ontario storm hangover.”
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said that although the highways are plowed, there are still jackknifed transport trucks, stranded vehicles, collisions, and lots of vehicles on the road.
“That snow is still causing traction loss for vehicles that are trying to get up slight grades, trying to get off exit ramps,” Schmidt said. “We’ve got problems all over the place.”
Schmidt is urging drivers to stay home.
“If you can stay home, just stay home. It’s not worth getting out here right now,” Schmidt said.
He said there are problems across Highway 401 in Toronto and Mississauga as well as the 410 in Brampton. There are dozens of calls for service, he added.
Highway 401 eastbound express at Islington Avenue is closed, and traffic is being forced off into the collector lanes, Schmidt said.
“This whole section of the 401 eastbound had been jammed all last night because of lineups and transport trucks that were stuck in this snow,” Schmidt said. “They had stopped because of congestion. There’s a slight incline which made it very difficult for a lot of these trucks to get traction.”
Just before 9 a.m., OPP also tweeted about a serious collision on the southbound Highway 400 approaching Highway 401. A photo posted by officials show a truck rear ended by a pickup truck. A driver has serious injuries and three lanes are blocked due to the crash.
The delays and backup come after a massive winter storm moved through southern Ontario early Monday, dumping several centimetres of snow. Depending on the area, between 30 and 60 cm fell, according to Environment Canada.
Drivers reported being stranded for hours as plows and tows tried to get to areas of the highway to clear snow and vehicles. Some drivers said they were stuck from anywhere between eight and 12 hours.
The winter storm halted traffic on Highway 401 near Keele and the Highway 401 ramp to Highway 400. The standstill lasted hours on Monday.
The Gardiner Expressway and DVP, patrolled by Toronto police, was also temporarily closed for hours to get plows in to clear the expressways due to major traffic and cars getting stuck from the snowstorm.
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