Ontario Provincial Police begin reopening Highway 11 after intense snowfall

Ontario Provincial Police officers say they have begun reopening a large stretch of Highway 11 in Cottage Country after rapid snow accumulation over the weekend saw hundreds of motorists and vehicles trapped.

“Crews continue to work on clearing the remaining snow on the northbound and southbound lanes,” OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a social media post Monday afternoon.

Schmidt said an earlier closure of the northbound lanes of Highway 11 at West Street in Orillia leading up to Highway 60 in Huntsville has been lifted.

The southbound lanes of the same stretch were still closed at Highway 60 in Huntsville. He said the closure could be lifted at around 4 p.m., but a definitive time wasn’t available at the time of his last update.

The 90-kilometre stretch of highway passes by Bracebridge, Muskoka Airport, Gravenhurst and Washago.

“We understand the frustration that motorists are having as a result of this,” Schmidt said early Monday.

“The vehicles that were on Highway 11 — we’re just waiting for the highway to be made safe for all traffic to start travelling on it.”

Schmidt said Ontario Ministry of Transportation snow-clearing operations have also been able to restore access to on- and off-ramps in the affected area except for Luigi Road in Gravenhurst.

The region was battered with intense snow squalls over the weekend. Officials in Gravenhurst, where it’s estimated there was 140 centimetres of snowfall, declared a state of emergency.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told CityNews equipment and crews from other parts of Ontario were brought in to assist with the cleanup effort. He said parts of the region dealt with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow an hour.

“We know how critical that artery is,” Sarkaria said.

“Over the weekend, we worked tirelessly with the OPP to ensure everybody was safe.”

Meanwhile, the City of Vaughan sent four snow blowers and operators to Gravenhurst to assist with the snow-clearing effort.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

With files from The Canadian Press