BE PATIENT – THE ROAD IS CLOSED FOR YOUR SAFETY

(SOUTHERN BRUCE COUNTY, ON) – With another day of powerful storms and road closures across Southern Bruce County, the South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is asking residents to respect the closures and stay off the affected roadways.

The Highway Traffic Act provides police the authority to close a road “to prevent injury or damage to persons or property”. The strong winds are creating pockets of zero visibility and large snow drifts across the roads. These dangerous driving conditions have forced the South Bruce OPP to close many area roads.

The decision to close a road is not taken lightly as there is a significant impact on personal and commercial travel. Shipments don’t arrive at hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, farms, or businesses, but these same deliveries must arrive safely and intact to be of value to the receiver.

The localized snow squalls that are common along the shores of Lake Huron may cause you to question why a road is closed. It’s possible for the weather and road conditions to change very quickly during winter storms. Living along a closed road when the weather “doesn’t look too bad” can be very frustrating, but a short distance down the road a powerful winter storm is causing very dangerous driving conditions.

Road closures often times extend past the end of a storm to give the road maintenance crews time to clear the snow and treat the road surface. It’s important to stay patient and stay off the road as stranded or abandoned vehicles hamper the road crew’s efforts to get the road re opened.

“I understand that no one likes restrictions on their ability to travel, but I ask for your patience and understanding as road closures are done with the best intentions to keep you safe. Emergency services personnel are needlessly placed in very dangerous situations as we are often called upon to drive down closed roads to rescue stranded motorists who should never have been on the road. The safest way to get through a storm is to stay home; the life that you save could be your own” – Inspector Scott Smith, Detachment Commander, South Bruce OPP.