Drivers stranded through the night, thousands still without power after snowstorm on B.C.’s South Coast | 24CA News

Thousands of commuters all through B.C.’s Lower Mainland had been stranded of their automobiles for hours Tuesday after the primary main snowfall of the season created journey mayhem throughout the area.

Some drivers, livid and exhausted, had been caught in a single day till Wednesday morning on an eastbound part of Highway 91 — a significant commuter route connecting New Westminster, Delta and Richmond simply south of Vancouver. 

By midnight, a number of roads had been nonetheless as packed as a daily rush hour. Many of these trapped had been involved about operating out of meals, water or gasoline as their 20-minute commutes changed into hours-long highway journeys. 

“[I’m] hungry, frustrated,” stated commuter Jane Tymos, talking in an interview from her automobile after six hours of icy bumper-to-bumper visitors.

“If it’s bad out in the morning, don’t even bother. It’s not worth it.” 

Traffic on the freeway started shifting round 6:45 a.m. PT — greater than 12 hours after the afternoon commute started.

More than 20,000 properties are nonetheless with out energy Wednesday morning, largely within the north finish of Vancouver Island. B.C. Hydro crews had been unable to succeed in some outages as a result of ferry service to smaller islands, like Hornby and Denman, was cancelled because of the climate.

A one-two punch of sturdy winds and blowing snow swept throughout B.C.’s South Coast on Tuesday. Travel by air and sea had been additionally affected by cancellations from B.C. Ferries and a number of other airports — together with Vancouver International, the place one passenger jet slid off a taxiway.

The snow is anticipated to taper off into rain Wednesday, although roads are nonetheless treacherous and climate warnings stay in place in lots of areas away from the water or at increased elevations.

Preliminary snowfall totals ranged from 5 centimetres in coastal areas like White Rock to greater than 20 centimetres on elements of Vancouver Island, in line with the climate company. Wind speeds ranged from 70 to 100 km/h.

A snow day has been declared at school districts throughout the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver, in addition to within the Metro Vancouver cities of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Langley.

• We want to communicate with folks about their expertise on the roads on Tuesday. If you might have a narrative to share about your commute, e mail bcasks@cbc.ca.

Some expressed their anger on-line about uncleared roads and an obvious lack of snow tires on many automobiles.

Mainroad, the contractor answerable for the upkeep of B.C.’s Lower Mainland highways, stated its staff had been caught in the identical mess as the general public — particularly on the Alex Fraser Bridge, which was shut down utterly for a number of hours.

“There was a bus and a truck that spun out [at the bridge], and once that happens, it’s kind of a domino effect. Other vehicles slow down, they start spinning out as well and they just became gridlocked very quickly,” stated Darren Ell, Mainroad’s common supervisor.

“The unfortunate part is our trucks are stuck in the same gridlock that the travelling public is as well. They couldn’t get out on the highway,” he stated, including that deserted automobiles created an impediment even after visitors resumed.

Ell stated it should take crews the “better part of the day” to clear roads, however hoped the job could be carried out by night. 

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone echoed that metropolis crews had been hampered by the sheer quantity of automobiles on the roads.

“It got to the point where, at 10 last night, every road within a couple kilometres of the Pattullo Bridge was full — full of stationary vehicles, people stuck for hours, unable to move anywhere,” Johnstone stated, referring to the bridge connecting his metropolis and Surrey. “Our crews couldn’t move anywhere because roads were simply full of people.

“People are simply not ready to spend 4 hours on a chilly day of their automobile. There’s loads of pressured folks and anxious folks.”

Snow, strong winds through Wednesday 

Environment Canada said more snow and winds between 40 and 70 km/h are expected again Wednesday. Non-essential travel should be avoided.

“If it adjustments from snow to rain the outcomes might be fairly messy. [Wednesday] morning, we’re some actually excessive impression climate for the Lower Mainland,” meteorologist Yimei Li said. 

“The smartest thing to do is keep at residence or keep sheltered throughout this time. Travelling throughout a snowstorm may be very harmful,” Li said. 

TransLink is expecting “important delays” once more Wednesday and suggested passengers to enroll in Transit Alerts.

Delays also expected on flights

Several flights leaving Vancouver and Abbotsford airports Tuesday and Wednesday were cancelled due to the conditions.

The north runway at Vancouver International Aiport (YVR) is still closed after an Eva Air plane slid off a taxiway while making its way to the gate and ended up stuck in snow around 7 p.m. PT.

YVR has asked travellers to leave extra time to get to the airport and check with airlines for updated flight information.