Trans-canada reopens
Winter storm dumps more than 30 cm of snow
The Trans-Canada Highway reopened in eastern British Columbia on Friday after an avalanche in Rogers Pass forced an extended closure.
The road was shut between Craigellachie and Revelstoke on Thursday evening. It was due to reopen Friday morning, but the opening was delayed and the closure extended eastward to Golden following the Rogers Pass slide.
A major storm descended on eastern B.C. and Alberta overnight Thursday, dumping 30 to 50 centimetres of snow in places.
Parks Canada carried out avalanche control in Rogers Pass from midnight Friday. The road was only expected to be closed for a few early morning hours before it was covered by the falling snow.
B.C. Ministry of Transport district operations manager Gordon Chudleigh said westbound traffic was let through about 1 p.m., once the all-clear was given.
Eastbound traffic was released about two hours later to avoid congestion.
“There’s no point in sending them off and having two big long strings of traffic meet each other,” he said.
“There’s some real windy sections through there.”
He urged motorists to be patient after the reopening, as the glut of traffic often caused accidents.
“It’s a little bit of jockeying, everybody gets all antsy,” he said.
“Everybody’s trying to pass each other and make time. Then you get this big string of traffic coming the other way. It’s not a good thing.”
Revelstoke was “bursting at the seams” with skiers eager to make the most of the latest snow, Chudleigh said. The traffic backup in the town was also bigger than usual, he said, as avalanche road closures usually last about four hours.
Road conditions in Calgary deteriorated overnight Thursday as fresh snow fell on already slippery roads.
Calgary police Duty Insp. Keith Cain said seven minor injury road collisions were reported in the city between midnight and 10 a.m. Friday. A further 32 crashes with no injuries were reported.
“Certainly, the roads were slick,” Cain said.
“At least it’s stopped snowing ... so I think things have settled down.”
Alberta Motor Association road reports co-ordinator Terry Clovechuk said roads north of Calgary, including Highway 2 to Edmonton, were plagued by black ice and poor visibility Friday morning.
“That lasted a few hours,” he said.
“One guy described Stoney Trail as being almost impassable (before road crews arrived).”
By late Friday, there were no highway closures reported in Alberta or B.C.