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
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.