Central Alberta motorists encountered the worst driving conditions in the province on Tuesday, with icy roads and blowing snow causing white-out conditions at times.
RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said Alberta RCMP responded to 138 collisions in the Edmonton area south of Red Deer, making it the hardest-hit region.
In all of Alberta RCMP jurisdictions, there were a total of 245 collision reports, including 23 involving injuries, but no fatalities. In the eastern jurisdiction, 27 reports came in, along with 22 in the west and 10 in the south.
On Wednesday morning, extremely icy conditions on Hwy 2 were reported in Central Alberta.
Environment Canada issued a blowing snow advisory for Central Alberta on Tuesday afternoon, and traffic collisions quickly started to mount. The northbound lanes of Highway 2 just north of Highway 11A were temporarily shut down after 3 p.m. because of a jack-knifed semi. Southbound traffic was reduced for a time to one lane in the Highway 11A area following numerous reports of vehicles spinning out and hitting the ditch.
At about 6 p.m., police advised motorists against travel due to poor road conditions.
By 9 p.m. travel was not recommended between Edmonton and Calgary on Hwy 2. White out conditions with severe wind was causing extremely poor visibility in many locations.
A tow ban was issued for the Hwy 2 corridor between Edmonton and Blackfalds Tuesday evening. All tow bans were lifted Wednesday afternoon.
"When a tow ban is issued, road conditions and visibility are so poor that it puts the public in jeopardy by trying to remove vehicles," Savinkoff said.
He said most vehicles that ended up in ditches on Tuesday, and several minor collisions, happened between Red Deer and Leduc. The Wetaskiwin, Camrose, Maskwacis and Ponoka areas, and around Edmonton, were areas of concern.
"It's always advisable for people to look at 511 and get the most up-to-date picture of what the roads look like before they leave, and to adjust their travel plans accordingly."
