Much of northeast and central Alberta is dealing with another major snowfall – with several centimetres of snow expected, that and high winds caused problems for drivers in the area Thursday.

At about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Edmonton Police said Anthony Henday Drive had been shut down - however, less than two hours later police said the road was re-opened.

However, police said tow trucks would not be responding to any calls for service on the Henday until further notice.

The brief shutdown came as a result of near white-out conditions along with poor road conditions - EPS said between 6 a.m. and about 4 p.m. Thursday, about 125 crashes had been reported, most of them only caused property damage but nine resulted in injuries and another nine were hit and runs.

Offcers had also been called to help with the massive multi-vehicle crash on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.

CTV's Chief Meteorologist Josh Classen said some areas of the province could be in for as much as 15 centimetres. Snowfall warnings remain in effect.

The city said 130 pieces of equipment were clearing Edmonton’s streets by midday Thursday – and contract graders had been hired to help out in the evening.

“We’re going down to the minimal amount of trucks in the neighbourhoods, so we can put more on arterial roads,” Bob Dunford, Director of Roadway Maintenance said.

The neighbourhood blading cycle, which was already underway, will continue through the current snowfall. The city adds that additional resources are being brought in so that the blading will be completed on schedule.

Regardless, cleaning up after this storm is expected to take days.

“We should be working through the weekend to get it cleaned up,” Dunford said.

In the city, tow trucks were scrambling to keep up with calls for assistance Thursday – by the evening, an AMA representative said the wait is less than an hour, but that’s only for emergency towing.

Anyone else will be waiting for about six hours.

Edmonton Transit buses were also affected by driving conditions – ETS said buses were running up to 45 minutes behind schedule.

Officials recommended transit riders bundle up, and give themselves enough time to get to their destination.

The city said as of Thursday evening, officials are not planning on calling a parking ban – but that could change in the next few days.

RCMP in a number of areas warn that highway travel is not recommended due to blowing snow and reduced visibility.

“We would tell people at this point, unless they need to travel for something very important, it’s better to stay off the roads until conditions improve,” Cpl. Colette Zazulak with RCMP said.

Leduc and Innisfail RCMP were warning drivers to use extreme caution on the QE2 Highway Thursday, due to icy road conditions and blowing snow - officers are dealing with a number of collisions on the highway due to driving conditions.

A section of the QE2's northbound lanes past the Black Gold overpass were closed late Thursday morning, Leduc RCMP said, after a tractor trailer and a number of other vehicles slid off the road, into the ditch, due to the slippery road conditions.

However, both directions of the highway were closed after more than 100 vehicles were involved in a massive crash on the highway just south of Leduc.

In that case, more than 100 people were injured – and police and emergency crews from a number of surrounding areas were called in to help.

Overnight, RCMP in Redwater, and Lac La Biche put out public warnings – advising drivers to keep off of area highways.

A number of school divisions have cancelled bus service including the Pembina Hills Regional School Division – where schools will also be closed to staff and students.

With files from Veronica Jubinville