A collision that took the life of a Dundalk man and closed Highway 10 for nearly 12 hours Tuesday resulted in motorists' confusion, with no posted detours for the through traffic.

The closure between Broadway and 10 Sideroad was seen as demonstrating a need for co-ordination of detour planning among the Ministry of Transportation, Dufferin County and local municipalities, including Orangeville.

Pavel Jehlicka, 50, of Dundalk was pronounced dead at Headwaters Health Care Centre after the vehicle he was driving was in collision with a Trans X transport truck at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The driver of the transport, whose identity Dufferin OPP did not disclose, remains in serious but stable condition at Headwaters with "non-lifethreatening injuries," investigating constable Allan LeBlanc said.

Although OPP officers on the scene described it as "a crime scene," and there were unconfirmed reports that the transport had gone through a red light, details of the collision remained sketchy, Cst. LeBlanc explaining that the "investigation is ongoing."

He asked that anyone who witnessed the collision should call the Dufferin detachment at 519-925-3838 to assist in the investigation.

The crash occurred shortly before 8 a.m., with both northbound and southbound lanes of Highway 10 remaining closed until early that evening. No detour signs were posted to tell motorists which roads to take as alternatives to the provincial highway.

Many transport trucks that encountered the barricade at Broadway chose to detour along prohibited Broadway, thence to County Roads 11 or 16. Southbound traffic was not advised where to go from County Road 10. Many vehicles used the notoriously gravel Blind Line south to 5 Sideroad, proceeded south to Hansen Blvd., and continued across First into the Fairgrounds shopping centre.

At the county, Public Works Director Trevor Lewis confirmed in a phone interview that detour signs could be erected on short notice, perhaps as little as a half hour, if there were a plan for such in place.

But he said the county cannot detour traffic onto municipal roads unless the municipalities

are agreeable. Logistically, there would need to be a pre-conceived plan involving all parties.

He said that in the absence of signage, motorists unfamiliar with the territory tend to follow the leader through stops and turns along the way, even when the leader is lost.

He pointed out that MTO has permanent detour plans in place on the 400 series of its highways. The detour signs can be activated from a central location should there be a road closure.

He said the absence of an emergency detour plan poses "a good question." There had been discussions with MTO but "they didn't express an interest."

On detours, Mr. Lewis said rerouting via township roads creates the problem of who should pay for damage to roadways not designed to carry heavy traffic. Apparently MTO does not pay local municipalities for roadway breakups caused by traffic rerouted from the 400 series highways.

That problem would have been avoided on Tuesday by designating the highway detour as via Dufferin Roads 10, 11 and 109.