‘Headache for everybody’: Eastbound Highway 401 in Milton reopens following collision

The eastbound express lanes of Highway 401 are closed in Milton following a collision. (MTO cam image)

The eastbound express lanes of Highway 401 have reopened after being closed during Tuesday’s afternoon rush due to a two-vehicle collision.

In a post on social media, the Ontario Provincial Police said the crash occurred where the collector and express lanes meet between James Snow Parkway and Trafalgar Road.

“The black tractor-trailer up ahead of me, there, was in the express lanes (and) wanted to cut into the collectors. (They) thought there was an opportunity,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, of the OPP, said in video.

“Unfortunately, (they) were not able to make it in time, and when they tried to get back in the express lanes, they went into this end treatment crash cushion.”

Schmidt said this piece of infrastructure, which has foam inside, is designed to absorb energy, and did just that in this case, however it also causes debris and mess.

He added that another tractor-trailer struck some of the metal debris that had been strewn all over the eastbound lanes.

Police previously said that the contents of one of the vehicles involved in the crash spread across all lanes, and as a result traffic is being forced onto the collector lanes.

No injuries were reported. The highway reopened just after 6 p.m.

Schmidt said there have been several collisions on that stretch of highway and urged motorists to look far down the road and always anticipate what lane they need to be in before they make any “last-second lane changes.”

“Please be careful out there. Please drive safe,” he said.

Police, meanwhile, are urging drivers to plan an alternate route.

They said that the highway will likely be closed until 6 p.m. as repairs are being done.