'Just trying to remain calm': Some stuck on Highway 401 in Toronto for more than 8 hours as storm wallops city

When airport taxi driver Sukhi Sidhu set out on Highway 401 in Toronto at about 7 a.m. Monday, he had no idea he'd be sitting there stranded, unable to move an inch, for more than eight hours and counting.

Sidhu was on his way to pick up a customer in Scarborough, Ont., getting onto the highway heading east at about 7 a.m.

It was "total whiteout conditions," he said. But he had a client to pick up who needed to get to the airport. The smaller roadways were a write-off, he said, so he was certain the highway would be his best bet.

About 15 minutes into his trip, traffic came to a halt.

He's been stuck in the same spot on the 401 Express ever since, and he's not alone.

"You can't really do anything," he told CBC News from his car around 3:20 p.m. "You've just go to tell yourself, 'It's all good, you're sitting in a car, you're good, you're warm ... just carry on.'"

Sidhu used to drive a truck, so he's used to making sure to have a full tank of gas, but said he worries about those who might not be as prepared.

"I'm just trying to remain calm. I have some water and I'm just with everyone else here, right. It's terrible, you see little kids, there's elderly people, they're stuck."

The Ontario Provincial Police says plows are trying to get through, but that there are vehicles snowed over and transport trucks blocked — and the loss of daylight will make the cleanup that much more difficult.

"Help is coming, we're trying to get through there," but there's no way of knowing how long it could take to get people out, said highway safety division spokesperson Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

"You can't plow a highway when there's vehicles on it."

As for how to clean things up, Schmidt said crews will have to start at the front of the gridlock, clearing out vehicles to create a path and then get others into that path so they can drive out.

Drivers who can are urged to take off traction control and try to help push each other out where possible, he said.

"We're not stopping until we're done," Schmidt said.