RCMP responding to crashes west of Edmonton as winter weather continues to wreak havoc

Hundreds of crashes have been reported in Edmonton and on surrounding highways after a major snowstorm in the area. CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha has the lates

Snow continued to fall in the Edmonton-metro area and throughout central Alberta on Friday, causing more problems.

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Parkland RCMP said it was responding to several crashes on Highway 16 near Stony Plain.

“Currently, eastbound traffic on Highway 16 is being redirected and westbound traffic is down to one lane. Police are reporting extremely poor road conditions in central Alberta and travel is not recommended,” Mounties said in a news release.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff confirmed that there were “multiple serious injuries” as a result of one crash on Highway 16.

Additionally, a Red Arrow transport bus carrying workers was involved in a crash on Highway 28, added Savinkoff.

Northbound traffic was being rerouted as of 2:30 p.m., but Savinkoff said he expected the scene to be cleared Friday afternoon.

“It’s very important when visibility is reduced, you’ve got to drive to those conditions because you can’t see what’s coming on,” Savinkoff said. “And then once you see it, if road conditions are poor and visibility is poor, there’s not enough time for you to slow down and stop, which compounds the issue.”

The crashes come after sections of Whitemud Drive and 23 Avenue in Edmonton were shut down on Thursday evening because of the traffic resulting from the winter weather.

“The fire department actually had some trouble getting to some of the sites, and actually had to walk in at one point, or a few points, in order to provide assistance to crashed motorists,” Sgt. Rob Strachan of the Edmonton Police Service told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

The snow has been falling since Thursday morning but is expected to taper off Friday night.