Hwy43 pile up?

[Maverick29]

Any one caught on the hwy 43 pile up?

[Ken07AOVette]

I saw that 50 cars!!!!
I was there last Friday at this time, for the first time ever on that highway there were no jerks passing everything at mach chicken. It was bone dry which made the decent driving even stranger.
I hope nobody is seriously injured

[wags]

I heard 17 vehicles and at least one fatality. Sad.

[Ken07AOVette]

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Melissa Thiessen
8 hours ago ·
HWY 43 is officially closed between Fox Creek and Whitecourt. 50+ cars in the pile-up. Vehicles are being turned around shortly after Fox Creek southbound.

[Twisted Canuck]

One fatality reported so far, it's a real mess....sad situation, but that type of pileup happens based on conditions and driving that doesn't maybe reflect conditions....

[Norwest Alta]

Not good. It’s kinda of a bad hill where this is taking place. The calcium or whatever it is they put on the roads the last couple of years don’t make it any better.

Heard 5 fatalities. That’s five to many.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

Not good. It’s kinda of a bad hill where this is taking place. The calcium or whatever it is they put on the roads the last couple of years don’t make it any better.

Heard 5 fatalities. That’s five to many.

Glad I heard wrong. 1 fatality. Drive safe all

[TUFFBUFF]

SIL went though there said 10k an hour and sliding around.

The thing that ****es me off is saw pics of fox creek that am and was a mess so they had a solid 8hrs to lay some salt down before that accident, totally preventable.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by TUFFBUFF

SIL went though there said 10k an hour and sliding around.

The thing that ****es me off is saw pics of fox creek that am and was a mess so they had a solid 8hrs to lay some salt down before that accident, totally preventable.

I don’t know what they’re using on the roads. Pretty sure it ain’t the salt sand mix that seemed to work. The stuff they’re using seems to make the roads waxy if that makes sense.

[RBI]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

I don’t know what they’re using on the roads. Pretty sure it ain’t the salt sand mix that seemed to work. The stuff they’re using seems to make the roads waxy if that makes sense.

I don't recall where they're using it , but I saw a news clip the other day , that they ( ? ) are trying out something to with beets or beet juice , kinds works like salt , with no rust .

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by RBI

I don't recall where they're using it , but I saw a news clip the other day , that they ( ? ) are trying out something to with beets or beet juice , kinds works like salt , with no rust .

I haven’t been on hwy 43 much but I’ve never seen such a mess as hwy 40. The hiway looks wet but man o man does it get icy. That crap sticks to the head lights so you can’t see much either. It’s almost like it melts the snow and ice then mixes and refreezes.

[tbiddy]

Originally Posted by RBI

I don't recall where they're using it , but I saw a news clip the other day , that they ( ? ) are trying out something to with beets or beet juice , kinds works like salt , with no rust .

My brother works for the City of Edmonton and they are trying an experiment this year of applying Calcium Chloride mixed with a beet juice. He’s applying it to the bike paths on 118 Ave and Whyte Ave.

[Dick284]

Betcha the beet juice will bring critters to the road far better than salt.

Watch out for the furry hood ornaments.

How about this.
Plow, sand, and get onto it as soon as the weather hits....oh wait it's all contracted out now, somebody wouldn't be getting a tidy sum in their bank account, if they were pro active instead of reactive. These contracts have to have incentives or initiatives maybe even claw backs when the $ over rides highway safety.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Betcha the beet juice will bring critters to the road far better than salt.

Watch out for the furry hood ornaments.

How about this.
Plow, sand, and get onto it as soon as the weather hits....oh wait it's all contracted out now, somebody wouldn't be getting a tidy sum in their bank account, if they were pro active instead of reactive. These contracts have to have incentives or initiatives maybe even claw backs when the $ over rides highway safety.

You bet. Seems that the days of the Alberta hiway dept were much better in many ways. I have been told that to save money the guys painting the lines are making them thinner and only doing on side per year. Once again profit trumps safety.

[Bushrat]

Go back to sand and salt. Id rather drive a rusty car with a pitted windshield on salty sandy roads than get killed in a pile up of unrusted cars on a greasy slimy slippery road because some gov't official would rather risk our lives so our cars don't rust.

The real reason they are using that stuff is because it is probably less expensive??? There is little difference between the corrosive effects of salt as opposed to Calcium Chloride on metal oxidation. Sand still works no matter how cold it gets.

[Tactical Lever]

Almost. But we delayed leaving as the wife was worried about the snow. Naturally I scoffed at that. Back when we were dating, I travelled a couple hundred km to date her on the weekends, and I bought an old 1970 pick up that had been restored and modified quite a few years earlier. It was updated with halogen lights, which was good, but it developed a problem where the draw seemed to overload the headlights, and they would go out for a time.

Tried changing bulbs, dimmer, switch, but didn't figure it out, so I travelled with one headlight for a while.

I got caught in a big snow storm one night, heading home to get to work one night. I was able to travel 70 mph before it started snowing, then down to 50, 30, and eventually I was in the bull low 1st gear at idle. The snow was so heavy, that it was starting to short my ignition system. When I got back, it wasn't too long after that I added big PA fog lights, then big driving lights, and upgraded the whole ignition system.

Point of my ramble, was I was travelling in very limited visibility, with poor lights, and it would have been unlikely that anyone behind me could have seen me very well either. But I slowed down as needed.

Saw the videos, and people were travelling way too fast for conditions. That was easily driveable, had people backed off, and gave more distance between vehicles. Visibility wasn't great, but I've travelled in much worse.

It's too bad that people had to get hurt and die, trying to get to see family.

[IL Bar]

Not sure about other areas but it seems to me that Carillion or whatever they are called don’t seem to plow highways in my area anymore. They just dump a heavy salt/sand/calcium mix on 3 inches of snow and expect that to do they job instead of plowing and putting a little salt/sand on the road like they did in the old days. Roads are slushy for a few hours and then stay wet for days afterwards. No wonder vehicles are rusting out faster.

[oilngas]

CaCl2; I have to agree that stuff makes the slush / water / snow mix a greasy nightmare.

Was the massive pile up on the Isoegun hill?? It's been years since I had to drive thru there, but still remember the propane tanker truck coming down the hill in the eastish bound lane sideways and hitting the bridge at the bottom.

[Tactical Lever]

I believe the high tally was 3 pileups. Two about a km apart West, and then a big one East, with a few separate crashes or people hitting ditches.

Highway was closed both ways for about 6 hours, and then there were more people in the ditch after it was opened again.

[Blur]

Man dead after 17-vehicle pileup near Fox Creek


https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/man-dead...reek-1.3734685

[purgatory.sv]

Just an observation.

I have seen a truck apply a liquid ,it had no blade.
The slush eventually breaks down,but the road was wet and probably had some icy portions.
After a couple of days most of the slush was gone. I have only seen one truck with a blade clearing an exit ramp.

You seem to be driving on a wet road until the solution has worked,therefore caution is needed.

Condolences to any who have lost someone.

[Chive]

Too bad I lost it!Government never do anything about these!

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by Chive

Too bad I lost it!Government never do anything about these!

Didn't have comprehensive insurance?

[mmhmmmm]

A friend of mine has been researching a bit lately since we all agree he clear roads for the last few weeks in Edmonton seam to be slick from the liquid they are applying. Apparently the issue comes at muni level, the solution they put on has anti rust agents added for us. The anti rust agents are apparently to blame for the brutal traction. Could source if required, it’s on an Edmonton reddit thread


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Weedy1]

During Winter 2017 - 2018, the City will expand the anti-icing pilot conducted in February and March 2017. The product will be applied to about 3,000 km of road, or about 40% of Edmonton’s arterial and collector roads.

Anti-Icing Pilot Program:

https://www.edmonton.ca/transportati...t-program.aspx

Map of area:

https://www.edmonton.ca/transportati...apsNov2017.pdf

[Reeves1]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Almost. But we delayed leaving as the wife was worried about the snow. Naturally I scoffed at that. Back when we were dating, I travelled a couple hundred km to date her on the weekends, and I bought an old 1970 pick up that had been restored and modified quite a few years earlier. It was updated with halogen lights, which was good, but it developed a problem where the draw seemed to overload the headlights, and they would go out for a time.

Tried changing bulbs, dimmer, switch, but didn't figure it out, so I travelled with one headlight for a while.

I got caught in a big snow storm one night, heading home to get to work one night. I was able to travel 70 mph before it started snowing, then down to 50, 30, and eventually I was in the bull low 1st gear at idle. The snow was so heavy, that it was starting to short my ignition system. When I got back, it wasn't too long after that I added big PA fog lights, then big driving lights, and upgraded the whole ignition system.

Point of my ramble, was I was travelling in very limited visibility, with poor lights, and it would have been unlikely that anyone behind me could have seen me very well either. But I slowed down as needed.

Saw the videos, and people were travelling way too fast for conditions. That was easily driveable, had people backed off, and gave more distance between vehicles. Visibility wasn't great, but I've travelled in much worse.

It's too bad that people had to get hurt and die, trying to get to see family.

relay switch is the cure....

[Reeves1]

Posted before about using Calcium Chloride use on roads : it will not work & will rust out vehicles faster....regardless of rust inhibitors added.

I knew this ( so did "they" ) back many years ago.....I used to be a HWYS road foreman back then.

See the redish (dry) stuff used ? It's a left over product from making Calcium Chloride (pot ash). Cheap. Causes the same greasy road surface.

Applying a melting agent just before a storm is the proper way to apply it. Makes a brine.....however, it's supposed to be plowed off during / at the end of the storm - not left to melt the snow.

It's almost like all the older guys that knew this stuff have retired & the young are re-inventing the wheel.....

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by Reeves1

relay switch is the cure....

I don't think I was drawing any more power; but it's the obvious solution now. Would have let me run over Wattage lights, too.

[Tactical Lever]

Another big truck, having problems; stuck across the highway blocking off traffic. Vehicles had to be rerouted around.