Highway 17 reopened between Wawa, White River after transport crash

Highway 17 reopened Tuesday morning after a 6.5-hour closure in both directions from Wawa to White River due to a tractor-trailer collision.

The single-vehicle rollover happened about 10 kilometres north of Wawa, Ontario Provincial Police said on social media.

Transport truck rollover on Highway 17 near Wawa has closed the road in both directions. July 25/23 (Ontario Provincial Police)

Const. Ashley Nickle told CTV News in an email OPP was notified of the crash shortly after 5 a.m.

A photo posted on social media by OPP shows a transport on its side blocking the two-lane highway.

Two occupants have been taken to hospital with minor injuries, Nickle said.

"Reopening time unknown, but possibly a lengthy closure due to size of vehicle and its position across all lanes of the highway," she said.

"Cause is unknown at this time, investigation is ongoing."

OPP announced on social media the road reopened around 11:30 a.m.

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There is no detour, however, motorists in White River can take Highway 631 to Highway 11 and motorists in Wawa can take Highway 101 to Highway 11, but it will add hours to the drive and will "probably take longer than waiting for Highway 17 to reopen," Nickle said.

Highway 17 is closed from Wawa to White River. July 25/23 (511 Ontario)

Last week, a 23-year-old commercial driver from Edmonton and the company he worked for were charged in a fatal crash that killed a northern Ontario man in November on that same stretch of highway.

Chris Casavant was involved in mine rescue and fire services. (Supplied)