Winds, snow force highway closure
RCMP closed Highway 2 for about an hour in wake of three-car accident
Slippery road conditions and whiteout conditions caused by blowing snow forced RCMP to close a section of Highway 2 (the TransCanada Highway) near Salisbury for about an hour yesterday afternoon.
Sgt. Maurice Comeau of District 11 RCMP said a section of westbound lane of the four-lane highway was closed around 4 p.m. after a three-car accident near the Berry Mills Road.
He said high winds carried light snow from nearby fields onto the highway. The snow was melting on contact with the warm asphalt and then freezing again later, causing icy conditions. He said at least three cars were involved in one accident but there were only minor injuries. Another RCMP spokesman who had driven from Moncton to Fredericton earlier in the day said he had seen at least one car in the ditch near the highway overpass at the Homestead Road.
RCMP summoned extra members to the scene and closed the highway until maintenance trucks could arrive and put down salt.
A spokesman for MRDC Operations Corporation, which handles maintenance for the four-lane highway, said there were a few cars off the road in the area between the highway scales near Salisbury and the Berry Mills Road. RCMP did not set up detours to guide traffic through rural roads but rather had drivers sit and wait until the road was cleared and reopened. Comeau said some drivers didn't stop for the RCMP road blocks, even though the officers were wearing their reflective vests and had their roof lights flashing.
The RCMP has the authority to close a major highway if officers in charge believe there is a safety risk.
High winds were also reported in the area of the Tantramar Marsh near Sackville, but RCMP said the roads were not closed.
The Confederation Bridge was placed under high wind restrictions yesterday for cars towing trailers, motorcycles and high-sided vehicles.
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