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Niagara plows out

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Southern Ontario is digging out from under another thick blanket of snow. Plows are clearing major roads and starting in on city streets. In Niagara, the build up on highways caused a number of crashes Wednesday. So plows are out in full force, hoping to prevent more collisions overnight.

Niagara snow plow drivers like Marc Hardy have a long night ahead of them: “I’ve been here four years and I think this is probably the worst.”

The region bore the brunt of today’s storm with blowing snow leading to white-out conditions.

Constable Lynn Cayouette is with the Ontario Provincial Police: “Today we received many complaints of several multi motor vehicle collisions.”

A head on crash in West Lincoln sent two people to hospital

In Grimsby, jack-knifed tractor trailers blocked all lanes of the QEW, and multi-car crashes left drivers shaken.

Leah Yaromich had her car written-off: “Tried slowing down. There was no slowing down at all and completely my back end just spun out.”

Now that the storm is over, clean up efforts are well under way, with plows working overtime.

Lynn said: “You must slow down. You must keep a safe distance behind them and let them do their thing. A lot of people we see getting impatient and try to pass the plows, and then that’s when they lose control.”

Niagara may have more snow than Hamilton, but they also have much more salt. So once the roads are clear they can lay down a thick layer to give drivers some traction.

Plowing this much snow is a major undertaking, but the end result is worth it for drivers.

Marc said: “I like to see the finished product. After you’ve finished plowing and the roads scraped and it’s clean and knowing that hopefully we make a difference out here.”

Because crews aren’t fighting with more falling snow, main roads should be pretty clean by morning, meaning a much safer commute Thursday.

Another crash in the Fort Erie bound lanes tied up traffic for a few hours Wednesday evening.

A crash involving several vehicles had emergency crews sent to the QEW near Fifty Road. A snow plow was involved and the crash lead to other cars losing control. There were concerns about fuel spilling out of one of the vehicles, but there are no reports of any serious injuries.