Don Clark and Jim Litzner of the Michigan Department of Transportation redirect motorists at St. Ignace Wednesday, March 11, when whiteout conditions along US-2 west of St. Ignace resulted in four multi-vehicle accidents, causing the road to be closed for four hours. The men directed drivers around the area, rerouting traffic to northbound I-75 to M-123 west and then to Worth Road, which brought drivers back to US-2. A winter storm that brought high winds and snow squalls, creating whiteout conditions in the Straits area throughout the day Wednesday, March 11, was blamed for four separate multi-vehicle accidents on US- 2 and one multi-vehicle accident on the southbound causeway to the Mackinac Bridge. No serious injuries were reported.

Four crashes along a one-half mile stretch of US-2 involved 11 passenger vehicles and two semitrucks, said Lieutenant David Hopper of the St. Ignace Michigan State Police post. Wednesday afternoon, troopers were dispatched to an accident on US-2, approximately 15 miles west of St. Ignace in the Sand Dunes beach area. Upon arrival, they found four crashes.

Several motorists involved there had minor injuries and sought their own treatment.

US-2 was closed for four hours from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. from west of St. Ignace to Worth Road because of whiteout conditions and to clean up accident debris, said Doug Noble, Michigan Department of Transportation maintenance supervisor from St. Ignace. High winds and blowing snow created snowdrifts and resulted in zero visibility along the stretch of the road that borders an open, sandy beach area of Lake Michigan.

"It was like you drove into a curtain," said Mr. Noble of the blowing snow.

The conditions took motorists by surprise, he said, as the sun was shining nearby in St. Ignace.

To avoid the area, drivers were rerouted from St. Ignace to northbound I-75 to M-123 west, where they turned south onto Worth Road, bringing them back to US-2.

On the southbound causeway to the Mackinac Bridge, a car ran into the back of a semi-truck about 9 a.m. Wednesday, causing a fourvehicle accident. No injuries were reported.

Southbound traffic was held at the toll booths for approximately 45 minutes until the accident site was cleared, said Bob Sweeney, executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority.

During the pre-dawn hours, the fast-approaching storm caused winds to increase on the bridge by more than 30 miles per hour within five minutes, reaching more than 50 miles per hour, and the bridge was closed to high profile vehicles. By 7 a.m., lower wind speeds allowed vehicle crossings to resume with escorts, which lasted until 7 p.m. Escorts are used when wind speeds exceed 35 miles per hour.

During the storm, wind gusts recorded on the bridge reached 70 miles per hour.