A major traffic accident involving as many as four transport trucks in the midst of a winter storm has shut down a section of the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick.
A 38-kilometre stretch of the eastbound lanes of the highway have been closed due to an accident near Florenceville-Bristol.
The highway is closed between kilometre markers 115 and 153. Motorists are advised to take an alternate route.
That section of the highway is maintained by Brun-way under an agreement with the provincial government. Spokesperson Felicia Murphy said driving conditions are poor and drivers should stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
"Right now what I know is the accident involves I think at least four transport trucks," she said. "One of the trucks was carrying some fuel, I believe it was crude oil, which is why we have the detour so they can clean up that spill of crude oil.
"Environment officials have been contacted and are on their way for assessment and cleanup."
Murphy said the highway closure is likely to be in effect for the rest of the day.
As much as 40 centimetres of snow and blowing snow is likely to have accumulated in central and northern New Brunswick by the time the storm passes through later Thursday. Ice pellets and freezing rain are thrown into the mix in southern New Brunswick.
By early Thursday morning, more than 20 centimetres of snow had already fallen in some places, resulting in the closure of all public schools in New Brunswick.
"It's not the end of it," said CBC meterologist Peter Coade. "This snow goes all the way back just about to Lake Ontario, and all of this has to move across us before it clears tonight. So you could see another five or 10 centimetres before all is said and done."
As the system moves through the Maritimes, it will be taking its mix of snow, freezing rain and ice pellets to Newfoundland and Labrador, Coade said.
However, once the storm passes through, its effects will still be felt in New Brunswick, he said, noting that winds were gusting to 66 km/h at Moncton airport on Thursday morning.
"The wind is going to be staying strong, blowing around the snow that we have, creating near blizzard-like conditions," Coade said.
"It's not over til the paperwork is all done."
Blizzard warnings remain in place for northeastern New Brunswick while the rest of the province is under snow or winter storm warnings.
Environment Canada also has issued weather alerts in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, with a flash freeze warning in effect for the Halifax area.
Nova Scotia saw mainly rain overnight, with some localized flooding in Dartmouth. More than 2,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were in the dark.
NB Power outages were reported in Fredericton and St. Stephen earlier Thursday. Those outages were restored, but another 300 customers in Moncton were without electricity at midday Thursday.
Road conditions in New Brunswick are poor.
Those responsible for maintaining the Trans-Canada Highway through the province were urging people to stay off the highway or limit travel if at all possible.
"If you have to go on it, drive with caution," said Ross Mathers, of Maritime Road Development Corporation, which operates the highway from Moncton to just west of Fredericton.
"If you don't have to, do it like the airports and close it down," he said. "Use your phone and phone ahead and say, 'I'm sorry, I can't make it today.'"
Mathers said the entire length of the highway his company maintains has been affected by snow and ice.
"We've had a very heavy night with freezing rain," he said. "We've had over 20 centimetres of snow in Oromocto."
It is expected to be Thursday afternoon before the storm system has passed through the province onto Newfoundland.
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