Delivery delay: Impact of B.C. highway closures will soon be felt in Alberta
Grudev Sandhu and his truck full of frozen food are supposed to be in Surrey, B.C. right now.
Instead, five days after leaving Toronto, he's parked beside the highway west of Calgary, waiting for further direction now that part of his route is washed away.
"I cannot keep going," said Sandhu. "The company is trying to see if I can unload in Calgary then I will return from here to Toronto."
Sandhu says he's slept in his tractor-trailer the last two nights as he awaits word from head office.
Major highways and rail routes in southern B.C. are impassable after days of torrential rain and flooding.
Jesse Meyer was hauling grain from north of Grande Prairie to Abbotsford when he got caught between washed out roads.
"We can't even go back and we can't go forward, we really have no option right now," said Meyer "We are in our truck so we can sleep here and we have some extra food. We are comfortable, we just don't know how long we are going to be stranded here."
Experts say it could be a while.
"If you think of all the routes we have between Calgary Edmonton and Vancouver this is the first time I'm aware of where every single thing is cut off," said Kent Fellows of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy.
With roads and train tracks closed, and the Trans Mountain Pipeline taken offline as a precaution, nothing is moving, That means the impact of the flooding will be felt by people far from it.
"This isn't a slow down, this is a shutdown," says Fellows, "The longer this takes the more you are going to see shortages at stores and increasing prices of the things we can get."
It's believed up to 100 vehicles could still be stranded by mudslides or washed out roads and there is no timeline on when they'll be free.
Meyer says he just wants to get home.
"We just don't know how long we are going to be stuck here," he said. "The restaurant here also says they are almost out of food. There are quite a few people here as well."
It's estimated that roughly 10 per cent of vehicles travelling between Calgary and Vancouver are transporting products for resale.
Companies are now being advised to keep their products in warehouses until the roads reopen or alternative routes are found.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.