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All of the southern Manitoba highways that closed as gusting winds and swirling snow created near-whiteout conditions on Friday have reopened, and a blowing snow advisory is starting to be lifted as the weather system travels east.
The Perimeter Highway at Winnipeg reopened after being completely closed earlier Friday, the province’s 511 service said.
Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway had closed but it was fully reopened around 4 p.m., as were Highway 9, Highway 8, Highway 26, Highway 2, Highway 3 and Highway 236.
Highway 75, from the Perimeter to the U.S. border, as well as the section of Highway 23 that runs east of Highway 75, were reopened shortly after, according to 511.
Updated closures and other information on highway conditions can be found on the province’s 511 website.
Marta Lakomski lives north of Winnipeg in Lockport, where multiple vehicles got stuck or crashed because of the thick snow that blanketed Highway 9 near Highway 44.
Several vehicles are seen on a snowy Highway 9 near Highway 44 on Friday morning. (Submitted by Marta Lakomski)
“It’s crazy … the amount of snow that is getting blown in right now. It’s no visibility whatsoever. It’s not safe,” she said earlier Friday.
“Somebody’s in the ditch. Another car literally flew over snowbanks a couple hours ago. I call it Lockport Ski Resort because the amount of snow drifts.”
Manitoba RCMP said in an email to CBC News that they responded to a number of collisions because of “deteriorating road conditions and poor visibility.”
They confirmed the one near Lokomski involved several vehicles around 10:20 a.m. RCMP believe there were no significant injuries.
Another collision happened near the Headingley Correctional Centre about the same time, with reports suggesting four to six vehicles were involved, police said.
Some patients from that crash were sent to hospital as a precaution, but police believe there were no significant injuries.
RCMP asked drivers to stay off the highways in southern Manitoba as conditions were dangerous because of near-whiteout conditions. (Manitoba RCMP/Facebook)
“Other reports of weather-related collisions and vehicles in ditches have been received by RCMP in the past few hours,” the email said. “Motorists planning to head out on the highway today are encouraged to reconsider until conditions improve.”
The City of Winnipeg suspended recycling and garbage collection for the remainder of Friday because the landfill and 4R Depot at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility were closed because of poor road conditions.
“We expect to reopen the facility and resume recycling and garbage collection on Saturday morning. If your collection day is Friday, and your recycling or garbage have not yet been collected, please put out your cart on Saturday morning before 7 a.m.,” the city said in a news release.
A blowing snow advisory was issued for much of southern Manitoba on Friday, including Winnipeg and Brandon, as wind gusts were expected to reach 60-80 km/h in the region, especially in the Red River Valley.
Blizzard conditions with even stronger winds, up to 90 km/h, were expected on Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis.
Conditions were forecast to improve gradually, starting in the northwest and moving to the southeast, through the evening hours and into Saturday, the advisory said.
The advisory remained in place for much of Manitoba’s southeastern corner as of 3:30 p.m., from Portage la Prairie to the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg, but the city of Winnipeg was no longer included.