A powerful winter storm is creating dangerous driving conditions across Toronto and the GTA on Thursday, triggering multiple highway closures, jack‑knifed transport trucks, and a growing number of collisions as heavy snow and black ice blanket major routes.
Toronto police and the OPP are urging drivers to stay off the roads where possible, warning that visibility, traction and travel times are rapidly deteriorating.
DVP closed southbound at Eglinton after multiple collisions
The Don Valley Parkway is facing one of the morning’s most significant disruptions. Toronto police say the southbound DVP is closed at Eglinton Avenue as of 8:10 a.m., blocking access to the Gardiner Expressway.
The closure was triggered by several minor collisions, reports of black ice, and the need to give City of Toronto snowplows space to clear the roadway.
Police are asking drivers to avoid the area entirely.
“As the city experiences winter weather and snowfall accumulation today, drivers are reminded to slow down, maintain a safe following distance, drive according to the road conditions and give yourself extra time to get to your destination,” Toronto police said.
Transport trucks stuck on Clappison Hill as OPP close ramps
The storm’s first major highway closure came before dawn. Around 5 a.m., OPP reported that the Highway 401 westbound collector ramp at Kennedy Road in Scarborough was shut down after a jack‑knifed tractor‑trailer blocked the roadway. It reopened just after 8:30 a.m., OPP said.
In Halton, OPP say ramps from Highway 403 to Highway 6 northbound at the Hamilton–Burlington border are closed as crews respond to a major blockage on Clappison Hill.
According to the OPP Highway Safety Division, tractor‑trailers are unable to climb the hill in the snow, leaving the roadway impassable. Plows are en route, but police are urging drivers to avoid the area.
