Icy road conditions make for treacherous drive on Highway 1
Posted Oct 30, 2021 1:42 pm.
The Trans-Canada Highway has become less of a roadway and more of a skating rink in the past 24 hours, according to Cochrane RCMP.
Friday night’s snowfall with the low temperatures has made icy road conditions west of Calgary.
RCMP have responded to a number of crashes in both directions on Highway 1 towards Canmore and Banff.
Cpl. Susan Richter with RCMP says if you are on the highway it is best to be patient.
“Volker (Stevin) has been out since early (Saturday) morning treating the roadways and doing what they can and the conditions keep changing. But my understanding is they are doing the best they can with the resources they have,” Richter said.
The calls for help have been consistent overnight and into Saturday morning.
“Most of these collisions just involve people sliding on the ice and entering the ditch,” he added. “So, there haven’t been any injuries reported. There are also some semis and trucks having difficulties getting up some of the hills on the icy roads.”
But with the rapidly changing conditions, Richter says it is best to be cautious not only just on the roads.
“Even sidewalks are icy right now. So, there’s just a lot of ice everywhere because of the changing temperatures from mild to freezing overnight. We are just asking everyone just to be careful, keep your speeds down, try to keep a lot of distance between yourself and the vehicles in front and beside you. Just give yourself extra time to get to your destination.”
There was also a reminder from officers to slow down, give extra room and be prepared to stop if you see police vehicles or tow trucks working in the area.
