Whaletown Road was completely blocked near Robertson Road on the afternoon of Friday January 19th, for almost an hour.
Snowy conditions were too much for a heavy tractor-trailer rig carrying earthmoving equipment and what appeared to be a large generator. The driver, travelling from the ferry to a destination on the south end, lost traction on the hill approaching Bodington.
His truck and trailer ended up diagonally across the roadway with one front wheel off the pavement. Through traffic was held up while the driver, his customer, and helpful locals made diligent efforts to free the vehicle.
Island Foods and Freight’s delivery truck, westbound for the ferry, attempted to assist the stranded truck, but was unable to provide enough towing power.
Its driver was able to back into Bodington Road and wait out the situation.
Some bystanders expressed surprise that the stuck truck — owned by Red Path Transportation of Winnipeg — did not appear to have snow tyres. Eventually — after strenuous efforts to strew dirt and branches under its tyres — the Red Path truck was able to back out of its awkward situation and allow local traffic to proceed normally.
Cortes Currents would like to remind our readers to take it easy on icy, slushy roads, and if possible carry chains during heavy snow conditions.
[all photos not credited to B McGowan are by D Clarke]