Winter storm causes multiple collisions as Montreal gears up for snow removal

Near whiteout snowstorm conditions Thursday afternoon led to multi-vehicle collisions in the Montreal area.

At the same time, Montreal began snow clearing and is preparing for five to six days of removal operations, which are expected to start Friday at around 7 p.m.

However, snow-removal operations may come to a screeching halt if another storm hits this weekend, as forecasted. Though Environment Canada says weekend weather likely won't bring too much accumulation. 

A spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said the multi-vehicle collisions occurred on Highway 10 and began at around 12:45 p.m. when emergency services were called to respond to multiple crashes between kilometres 39 and 47 near Honoréville, in the Montérégie region.

The most significant collision happened at kilometre 40, where a large semi-truck lost control, blocking both lanes of traffic and triggering a crash involving approximately 20 vehicles.

WATCH | A look at the aftermath of the collisions: 

50 vehicles involved in string of crashes on snow-covered highway east of Montreal

5 hours ago

Duration 0:54

Provincial police say two people involved in the collisions were sent to hospital after near whiteout conditions caused several multi-vehicle accidents in the Montreal area.

Three additional collisions occurred farther down the highway. In total, four separate crashes involved around 50 vehicles.

The westbound lanes of Highway 10 were completely blocked, while the eastbound lanes remained open but were moving extremely slowly. Two people with minor injuries were transported to hospital.

"This created congestion throughout the afternoon," said Transports Québec spokesperson Nicolas Vigneault.

"Road conditions remain difficult," he added, and sudden winds could bring visibility down to zero.

In Montreal, snow-clearing operations began around 11 a.m. with 1,000 workers on duty, according to city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.

He said the priority has been to clear sidewalks to ensure people can safely navigate on foot before launching the snow-removal operation. He said snow and gravel spreading was ongoing throughout the day Thursday.

He said snow removal, including tow truck drivers, requires 2,500 vehicles and nearly 3,000 workers to clear 10,000 kilometres of roads and sidewalks.

Montrealers can do their part by making sure their cars are properly parked, out of the way. Even during the snow-clearing operations, it can help if people park 30 centimetres from the curb so sidewalks are easier to clear, said Sabourin.

Then, during the snow-removal operation, people should be paying attention to parking restrictions. The city is providing free parking in an effort to reduce the amount of time spent towing cars.

A total of 8,060 parking spots are available overnight from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., the city says in a news release, urging people to visit the snow removal section of the city's website and download the INFO-Neige Montréal app for more information about operations and free parking.

"We still have a lot of cars needing to be towed," said Sabourin. "And each time we are towing a car, we are losing time, maybe 10 minutes per car, so that is slowing down the operation."

According to Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, four to five centimetres of accumulation came quickly to the Montreal area on Thursday, and there should be a few more by the evening. Temperatures are then expected to increase, and the city could get some freezing drizzle, he said.