ROADS were brought to a complete standstill yesterday as fierce blizzards swept the Highlands.
Heavy snow – whipped up by strong winds – brought crashes and chaos, and forecasters warned last night that more winter weather was on the way.
At one stage both main road links to and from the Highlands were closed, although the A82 Fort William to Glasgow road reopened later.
The worst situation was on the A9 Inverness to Perth route which was closed for several hours after a van and lorry crashed in near-whiteout conditions around 2.20pm near Drumochter Pass.
A witness to the crash said there was “chaos on the roads” when the lorry jack-knifed then hit the northbound Balfour Beatty contractors van, trapping the driver in the wreckage.
Fire crews from Kingussie, Newtonmore and Aviemore used cutting gear to remove the steering wheel from the van and release the injured man.
He was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness by road ambulance. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
Colin Matheson, a truck driver from Nairn, said: “I was behind the lorry when it jack-knifed and hit the northbound van. The driver was trapped but only had minor injuries. Chaos on the roads.”
Following the crash the snow gates at Dalwhinnie, Ralia in Highland and Calvine in Tayside were closed and police advised motorists to avoid the area as no diversions had been put in place.
As darkness fell, queues of traffic waiting to head south on the A9 stretched more than a mile from the Ralia junction.
A police officer at the scene said the gates were closed following accidents in Highland and Tayside caused by the wintry weather conditions. It is understood the conditions at time of the Drumochter crash were near whiteout due to heavy snow.
Farther south on the A9 Inverness-Perth route a Mercedes C20 car carrying four adults slid off the road five miles south of the House of Bruar, near Blair Atholl, but none of the occupants were injured.
In the same area, two HGV lorries collided blocking both carriageways. Again no one was injured.
A police spokesman said last night: “Bear Scotland have a number of gritters working in the area. However, motorists are being asked to monitor the Traffic Scotland website www.trafficscotland.org before starting their journey for the most up-to-date road and weather conditions.”
Last night lorry drivers stuck between the snow gates had a long wait as snow ploughs worked to clear the road which was reopened at 8.30pm.
Many cars queuing to head south on the A9 turned round and headed for the only diversion – crossing to the opposite coast and heading south via Fort William and the A82.
Earlier police advised the public not to travel on the A82 at Ballachulish due to adverse weather and a number of minor accidents in the area including a jack-knifed lorry.
She said: “There are no reports of any injuries but those travelling should be advised that there will be delays and there are currently no diversions in place.” The A82 reopened around 5pm.