OPP advising people to avoid non-essential travel as problems continue to plague many Ontario roads

Ontario police are again advising people to stay off the roads if they don’t need to move, as whiteout conditions continue on highways around the province.

“It’s still a pretty challenging day outside of GTA. If you have to travel, no matter where you’re traveling, understand how quickly things can change,” said OPP Sgt. Kelly Schmidt. Said. “We continue to ask people to eliminate or cancel non-essential travel. I don’t want you to be stuck in.”

Much of Toronto and its surrounding areas escaped this week’s winter storms without much precipitation, but other parts of the state saw heavy snowfall and high winds making driving dangerous.

The Peace Bridge, the border crossing into the United States, remains closed due to dire conditions and it is not clear when it will reopen.

Numerous road closures across the state continued Saturday and Sunday.

Some of these problems began to ease on Sunday afternoon, but the situation remains dangerous in many areas.

“Now the 402 has been reopened between Sarnia and London. Highway 401 is open between Prescott and the Quebec border, Mr Schmidt said in an update.” Two-way issues remain on 401 in between, and Highway 11 to Wawa in northern Ontario is still closed to traffic.”

Schmidt said there are other problems on Route 400 and Route 11, with snowstorms and whiteout conditions closing highways and other roads.

“There are still delays statewide,” Schmidt said.

He also said police were struggling to deal with the high volume of 911 calls from across the state.

“We are struggling to respond to these service requests and it is clear that we need to keep our highways open to everyone, but emergency response by paramedics and fire brigade is a priority. is clear.”

He said dealing with vehicles in trouble on highways is also dangerous for paramedics in conditions of poor or zero visibility.

“It’s dangerous for everyone, first responders and the general public,” Schmidt said. “Therefore, these highways will be closed to prevent these secondary collisions from continuing to pile up on the backs of other vehicles. It all depends on road conditions, weather conditions and site conditions.”

He advised people to check road conditions and closures for the entire route before heading out if they had to drive.

Vacation travel has also become more difficult this season for those traveling by plane or train. Weather problems across the country have left many people stranded at Pearson this week, and Via Rail train passengers were stranded for nearly 24 hours after a depot dropped on the train and tracks yesterday.

The issue has led Via Rail to cancel all trains between Toronto and Ottawa and between Toronto and Montreal on Christmas Day.

Frigid temperatures continued around the state on Sunday. Toronto was sitting at -5 C on Sunday, but the wind chill makes it feel like -15.