Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is reminding drivers to adjust their driving habits for the conditions around them after a number of accidents on Thursday.

At 6:00 p.m. temperatures fell below freezing, and combined with high winds, streets - especially bridges - turned to ice.

The WPS says they began receiving reports all at once "of a large number of motor vehicle collisions that were occurring in quick succession throughout the city."

14 bridges had accidents on them at one time, leaving many drivers stranded for over an hour. The WPS says that "approximately 97 vehicles were involved, and 55 vehicles required a tow. Nine people including two infants were transported to a hospital in stable condition. Countless people declined medical attention for various minor injuries."

The numerous accidents, and the resulting closure of all bridges in the city until they could be salted and sanded stretched police resources thin. "At its peak, approximately 30 police units (General Patrol, Community Support, and Cadets) were required to manage these incidents." 

Jim Berezowsky is the Manager of Streets Maintenance for the City of Winnipeg. He says that crews had already been out treating the streets earlier in the day.

"We were treating the roads throughout the day . . . with road salt. With the forecasts that were supplied, it did look like there would be some concerns for road treatments in and around the evening. When we saw the temperatures changing more than what was forecasted that's when we deployed our equipment. It was just before the time that the police decided to close the bridges."

Conditions changed rapidly, Berezowsky says. "It was almost within a half hour . . . the biggest thing was the amount of winds that came up in that time frame. If you were out on the roadways you would have really experienced some extremely high winds in a short period of time. That definitely cooled the roadways off quite considerably in a short period of time."

By Friday morning conditions on the roads had improved considerably and commute times were normal for the morning rush hour.