Highway 11 has now reopened in both directions between Orillia and Huntsville after a significant weather event stranded hundreds of vehicles and their drivers.
Crews worked tirelessly in plowing snow, assisting motorists and responding to emergency calls for service throughout the affected area. Reports of vehicle occupants being stranded for hours in their vehicles and residents in their homes without power resulted in challenging times for many people.
"The OPP want to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding through this challenging time," police said in a release issued late Monday evening.
The highway was shut down on Saturday morning after a wicked winter storm settled in north of Orillia. From Friday night until Sunday morning, more than 100 centimetres of snow walloped Bracebridge and Gravenhurst and other areas along the highway corridor.
Traffic is now moving throughout the region, although the on- and off-ramps of Luigi Road remain closed at this time due to snow accumulation. All other on- and off-ramps have reopened.
Soon after the storm began, there were several serious crashes involving transport trucks and passenger vehicles. The highway was strewn with the wreckage. Conditions were so bad that tow trucks also became stuck while trying to free the vehicles involved in the initial crashes.
The carnage meant plows could not clear the snow, while hundreds of vehicles lined up on the highway. Many people were left stranded, and had to be rescued and moved to a warming centre Saturday night at the Gravenhurst Centennial Centre.
Many local residents stepped in to assist stranded motorists by providing food, water and supplies and transportation to local warming centres via snowmobiles and off-road vehicles.
To top it off, there have been widespread power outages in the area, prompting the Town of Gravenhurst to declare a state of emergency early Sunday morning.
Many gas stations in the area have run out of fuel, making things even worse for those who have been idling in their cars for, in some instances, more than 65 hours.
It's the longest closure of one of the province's busy highways in recent memory.
