Schools closed as storm wallops Quebec

One after the other, more than 40 cars crashed into each other on Highway 10E in the Eastern Townships near Orford, forcing the complete closure of part of the highway Tuesday afternoon as zero visibility and icy roads combined to make the rush hour a nightmare for commuters.

The accident wasn’t the only massive pileup, however, as a severe winter storm took hold of southern Quebec.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board, English Montreal School Board, Commission scolaire de Montréal, New Frontiers School Board, Riverside School Board and Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board were among those who announced that schools and daycares would be closed on Wednesday.

As for the havoc caused on the roads Tuesday, numerous collisions were reported in and around Montreal and heading west — from an eight-car pileup on Highway 40 near Kirkland to a collision between three trucks that crashed into each other and caught fire on Highway 20 near St. Zotique, close to the border of Ontario.

Cars swerving off the road were a common sight all over Montreal and the Montérégie area.

Just three kilometres down the road, another truck spilled 20,000 litres of concentrated (19 per cent) sodium hypochlorite — otherwise known as bleach.

Highway 20 was closed in both directions as emergency environmental workers, firefighters and police tried to contain and clean up the spill, while motorists waited in their cars for more than five hours and counting.

Parts of highways 10, 15, 30, and 40 were also closed at different times as police and transport officials tried to clear up one collision before another ensued, like a game of whack-a-mole.

At least one person was killed in the traffic chaos when he swerved off the road and into a concrete bridge pillar in St-Wenceslas, near Victoriaville.

The police could not say how many have been injured.

“Weather conditions have deteriorated rapidly,” said Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Ingrid Asselin.

“Our patrollers and de-icers have been deployed on the roads — and they have their lights flashing to get motorists to reduce their speeds, too.”

Cars swerving off the road were a common sight all over Montreal and the Montérégie area, Asselin continued, making rush hour traffic especially difficult.

Around 5:30 p.m., a city bus ended up perpendicular across the entire width of Côte des Neiges Ave. at Rockhill Rd.

Travel by air was no better. By 5 p.m., most if not all flights out of Pierre Trudeau International Airport were either delayed or cancelled, including to the United States, Quebec City, Toronto and other Canadian destinations.

Air Canada was offering to waive change fees for anyone looking to book alternate flights Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Montreal region was expected to see up to 30 centimetres of snow by Wednesday morning.

Environment Canada is predicting there will be 30 to 60 cm of snow in the Eastern Townships, Beauce, Quebec City, Charlevoix and over the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula by Wednesday, with strong winds “possibly exceeding 100 km/h” accompanying the snow.

All the schools in the Eastern Townships were closed Tuesday, and Bishop’s University in Lennoxville cancelled all classes after 5 p.m.