Ontario Provincial Police have re-opened a section of Highway 402 after it was closed overnight due to poor weather conditions.
Both directions of the highway between Mandaumin Rd. near Sarnia and Centre Rd. in Strathroy were closed as snow squalls in the area reduced visibility, but re-opened just after 10 a.m. Monday. Blowing snow dropped visibility to almost zero in some areas and dangerous high wind chills complicated matters further.
OPP spokesman Derek Rogers advised on Monday afternoon that there could still be periodic lane closures as they remove about 50 vehicles from the ditch.
"I know that at one point we were reporting about 350 crashes which is, of course, a very significant number," said Rogers. "The weather that was coming in off of Lake Huron, the streamers that parked themselves right over Lambton County, were causing zero visibility and high winds. You combine that with bone chilling temperatures, and that was really a recipe for chaos."
Late Sunday evening, the OPP reported that Oil Heritage Rd. between the 402 and Lakeshore was also closed due to poor weather.
Highway 21 between the 402 and Forest was shut down Sunday night, but re-opened Monday morning.
Environment Canada's snow squall warnings for Sarnia-Lambton and an extreme cold warning ended Monday afternoon.
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