Winnipeg’s southern Perimeter Highway was closed in both directions for about two hours Tuesday morning due to a multi-vehicle crash blamed on icy conditions.
The first crash was first reported just after 7 a.m. and was followed by several others, involving a total of about six vehicles, police said.
One person was sent to hospital as a precaution, police said.
The roads were reopened shortly after 9 a.m
The consequences were mostly minor as approaching vehicles slowed down, but drivers found they could not stop in time because of “skating rink-like roads” that caused them to slip, a police spokesman said.
A rainy Monday, combined with subzero temperatures overnight, left much of the city covered in a slick layer of frost Tuesday morning.
A tow truck removed one of the vehicles involved in the accident on Tuesday morning. (Justin Fraser/CBC)
The crash primarily involved the westbound lanes between Pembina Highway and St. Mary’s Road, but the eastbound lanes were also closed for emergency vehicle access and to allow city crews to sand the slick areas.
“It’s a good time to remind motorists that if you drive over a bridge in these temperatures and near zero degrees, the air moving under the bridge is going to cause really bad icing,” said Const. Steve Spencer.
More news from CBC Manitoba: