Police are advising that Hwy 2 from Hwy 11a southbound to the Didsbury overpass is not recommended due to heavy snow and very poor road conditions.
There is a tow advisory in effect.
Slick roads and white-out conditions are causing havoc for Hwy 2 travellers between Red Deer and Didsbury, says an Innisfail RCMP highway patrol officer.
Const. Andy Methven said he’s had a busy day since starting his shift on the road at 6 a.m.
“People need to slow down. . . people need to realize it’s winter out there,” Methven said, shortly before 10 a.m. this morning. “Even though the maximum speed limit is 110 km/h, when there is a build-up of snow and slush, 110 is not a reasonable speed. It’s quite less.”
During Methven’s patrol this morning, he found the road to be slushy and slippery north of Innisfail.
Alberta Highway Services was called in to remove snow that had drifted onto the highway, reducing it to one lane in certain areas. At the top of Antler Hill north of Innisfail, several semis ended up the southbound lane which caused further problems. They likely had tried to park in the rest area.
“It looked like they had been snowed in because of the three foot drifts of snow,” said Methven. “They couldn’t get out but it has since been cleared up.”
Many vehicles careened into the ditch between Red Deer and Didsbury. South of Innisfail, white-out conditions are making highway driving treacherous.
Kurt Wilkie, operations manager for Alberta Highway Services at Burnt Lake Trail in Red Deer County, said plow trucks have been working area highways since Wednesday afternoon, when the snow storm first struck the Calgary area.
“We’re experiencing white-out conditions and strong winds,” said Wilkie at about 10:45 a.m. “It’s a typical spring storm, not unique to Central Alberta.”
Some snow has fallen west towards the Rocky Mountain House area, but the roads that way are in good condition, he said.
Have weather photos to share? Send them in to Advocate online editor Leo Paré and he'll post them to our website — lpare@www.reddeeradvocate.com