"Highway 11 Northbound closed at line 11. Nowhere to reroute. Southbound at Line 14 closed. Southbound traffic can be rerouted. Highway looks like it will be closed for a few hours. Whiteout conditions on the highways," says an OPP release.
Highway 11 Northboud closed at line 11 no where to reroute. Southbound at Line 14 closed. Southbound traffic can be rerouted. Highway looks like it will be closed for a few hours. Whiteout conditions on the highways. #OrilliaOPP^mh #OnStorm #RoadSafety pic.twitter.com/WuDHlT8pvD
— OPP Central (@OPP_CR) January 31, 2019
A seven-vehicle crash, involving several tractor-trailers, has shut down Highway 11 just north of Orillia.
Orillia OPP Const. Martin Hill said the incident occurred earlier this morning in the north-bound lanes of Highway 11 at Soules Road near Webers. Fortunately, he said, no-one was injured in the crash on the snow-covered, wind-swept highway.
"There are three vehicles in the ditch and heavy tow is on the scene" to pull a tractor-trailer out of the snow.
Hill said at about 9:30 a.m. that it would take up to two hours "to get traffic rolling."
He urged drivers to heed the conditions as roads throughout the region are snow-covered and winds are causing havoc, blowing snow across roads and creating visibilitiy issues.
"Please be patient while we clean up this scene," said Hill, noting Severn Township firefighters and County of Simcoe EMS are at the incident helping out.
"The weather is going to be off and on for the rest of the day, so please drive safe," urged Hill.