School buses cancelled in Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Thursday following storm
A prolonged period of freezing rain created slippery driving and walking conditions on Thursday, cancelling school buses for all school boards in Ottawa and eastern Ontario and slowing down the commute.
The freezing rain warning ended for Ottawa just before 5 a.m. Ottawa received 13 hours of light freezing drizzle and freezing rain, according to Environment Canada.
The city of Ottawa says all crews have been deployed to clear the snow and ice off roads and sidewalks.
"Our main focus has been to treat those icy conditions from the storm last night," Bryden Denyes, area manager of Ottawa roads, told CTV Morning Live. "We were focused on our priority roads and our sidewalks. Now we're going to be moving into looking at getting over those priority networks again and then moving into our residential streets and sidewalks this morning."
OC Transpo is reporting O-Line 1 launched on time at 5 a.m. and service is available at all stations. The transit service does warn commuters should expect delays on OC Transpo and Para Transpo routes due to the slippery conditions.
Ontario Provincial Police reported "multiple collisions" on Highway 417 overnight due to the freezing rain.
"Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Remember to slow down and drive according to the conditions," the OPP said.
Highway 401 was temporarily closed overnight near Brockville due to a collision.
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority says school buses are cancelled for all students in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and Ottawa Catholic School Board. Schools are open today.
- Sign up now for our nightly CTV News Ottawa newsletter
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Buses are also cancelled for the following boards across the region:
- Upper Canada District School Board
- Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario
- Renfrew County District School Board
- Renfrew County Catholic District School Board
- All Conseil des ecoles catholique du Centre-Est schools in Ottawa, Arnprior, Brockville,Carleton Place, Almonte, Pembroke, Prescott-Russell, Kingston, Marionville, Merrickville, Kemptville and Trenton
- Conseil des ecoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario
All schools are open.
OC Transpo
OC Transpo says Line 1 (Confederation Line) launched on-time at 5 a.m. on Thursday, and service is available at all stations.
Bus and Para Transpo service is operating, but OC Transpo warns delays are expected.
"Plan ahead and be cautious when boarding, exiting, and at station platforms," OC Transpo said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In a memo to council, Transit Services general manager Renee Amilcar said service was running on time.
"Thank you to our colleagues in the Public Works Department who have been out all night doing a great job to clear roads including prioritizing the transit network," Amilcar said Thursday morning.
"We are monitoring the forecast and expect challenging weather conditions to last into Friday. The OC Transpo team will continue to implement our robust winter operations plan throughout this weather event to keep our city moving. "
OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Maintenance operated out-of-service trains along the O-Train line overnight to mitigate ice buildup from occurring on the overhead catenary wires.
The transit service says de-icing solution is regularly applied to the overhead catenary wires to prevent ice build up, and carbon strips have been installed on trains to scrap ice from the system.
Ottawa Airport
The Ottawa International Airport was only reporting one flight cancellation for Thursday morning, as of 5:45 a.m.
Five flights are delayed today.
The airport is reminding travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
School exams
Ottawa's two largest school boards have rescheduled exams set for today due to the storm.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said on social media that, "there will be no evaluation tasks or exams taking place today for secondary students."
"All final evaluation tasks, exams, and student success opportunities scheduled for today will take place tomorrow. The rest of the scheduled secondary evaluation tasks and exams will shift to the next day. Your school will contact you with more details."
The Ottawa Catholic School Board says all exams scheduled for today have been postponed and rescheduled for Friday.
"Additionally, all other OCSB exams will be shifted by one day, with the last exams that were scheduled for Tuesday, January 30, now being written on Wednesday, January 31," the board said in a statement. "It's important to note that during a snow day, all schools remain open, but exams are not written."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
World No. 1 golfer charged with police officer assault before PGA Championship second round
World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer in what he called a 'chaotic situation' before being released in time to start his second round at the PGA Championship on Friday.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
B.C. optometrist warns against trending eye colour change procedure
A medical procedure that can permanently change a person's eye colour may be trending on social media, but a B.C. optometrist is warning about the significant risks associated.
An airplane passenger was spotted in an overhead bin. This was the reaction
Airplane overhead compartments. Home to luggage of all shapes and sizes, the odd coat or two, several duty-free bags, a fair bit of dust and… passengers?