By Charles Lefebvre

Police reminding motorists to adjust driving in winter

Feb 12, 2020 | 1:44 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service says a combination of inclement weather and poor road conditions led to the closure of a section of the Trans-Canada Highway Tuesday night.

The closure took place at 9:30 p.m., and spanned from 16^th Street Southwest to College Drive.

Sgt. Gerald Sadlemyer with the police service’s traffic unit, says road conditions Tuesday evening were more extreme than what police had seen during the winter, resulting in the decision to close the Kin Coulee Dip

“The portion of that highway, it’s quite high vehicle traffic as it is, but you get these slippery roads and people weren’t able to make it,” he said. “They’d come down the one side and not able to come up out of the other side due to the icy road conditions, so the officers made that decision.

“Plus, (there was) almost zero visibility, with people still trying to drive full highway speeds, so they decided to close it down until the storm passed

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The highway reopened at 11 p.m.

Sadlemyer notes they only had one minor collision due to the weather on the bridge, noting the main issue was slippery roads. Sand trucks were called in to assist.

Sadlemyer notes road conditions still were not ideal Wednesday morning, and reminded motorists they would have to adjust their driving due to the weather.

“Our speed limits in the city are 30 kilometres per hour and 50 kilometres per hour, but you have to drive slower in these conditions,” he said. “Give yourself a lot of room, be prepared that the intersections are going to be slippery, and stopping distance behind a vehicle, make you you can at least see the back tires, if not farther back than that.”

CHAT News reached out to Alberta Transportation, who oversee the Trans-canada Highway, to ask about the possibility of adding warning signs near the city to warn drivers about road closures.

The office sent a statement saying “There are long term plans for electronic signage through urban areas of the Trans Canada, including Medicine Hat, as upgrades are made to the 511 system.”

The statement adds motorists are advised to consult 511 “for highway conditions and details of short term, weather related highway closures.”