A look at Highway 11 near Prince Albert on New Year's Eve. (Highway 11 Road Conditions/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

WINTER HIGHWAYS

Wintery roads, advisories and what they mean

Jan 3, 2023 | 5:10 PM

Many Christmas travellers in Saskatchewan were met with a mixture of wild, winter weather and brutal conditions on the roads and highways.

Many of these motorists would turn to the RCMP or Highway Hotline for updates. But just how much do you know about the alerts they post?

Over the Christmas long weekend, advisories such as “travel not recommended” and “closed highways” came up, which halted plans for holiday travellers.

SGI and the RCMP answered questions from paNOW, hoping to verify these alerts.

According to SGI, “travel not recommended” is an encouragement to drivers to delay travel as a result of poor visibility or icy surfaces.

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These advisories are put in place when highways become impassable or are closed due to operational reasons. In some circumstances, plow operators are pulled off the highway due to dangerous conditions which are typically due to poor or no visibility.

The Ministry of Highways and the RCMP ultimately make the decision to close a highway.

In a statement, the RCMP said the Saskatchewan Traffic Safety Act doesn’t clearly state whether someone can be fined for travelling on a road where travel is not recommended, specifically because of weather.

When it comes to closures of highways, RCMP said barricades with police vehicles are not typically seen in Saskatchewan and when officers from the RCMP are called to attend the scene of a vehicle collision or poor road conditions, their primary role is to maintain the safety of motorists on the road.

“This involves re-routing traffic and placing traffic safety structures on the roads (such as pylons) to help motorists visually see the temporary lane changes,” the statement reads. “The Saskatchewan RCMP also relays any major restrictions in traffic and road conditions using media releases and social media channels to help ensure the public can take proper measures to ensure their safety on the roads.”

SGI said a closed highway is difficult to enforce and anyone driving on a closed road puts their life and potentially emergency crews in a dangerous situation.

As for the types of conditions that can impact highways in the winter, wind and rain, particularly freezing rain are the biggest culprits.

Ice-covered roads require up to 12 times the normal stopping distance.

SGI said the highways are inspected frequently to determine if plowing or salt and sand is required for the ice conditions, and highway conditions are reported to the Highway Hotline.

Before planning travel, check the weather forecast and always check in with the Highway Hotline before you depart.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow