Traffic moving again at Alberta's Coutts border crossing after protesters resumed blockade overnight

Traffic is moving again at the Coutts border crossing in southern Alberta as of early Tuesday morning after anti-vaccine mandate protesters resumed their blockade just hours earlier.

Alberta RCMP tweeted late Monday evening that both north and southbound lanes at the crossing on Highway 4 were blocked by the demonstration and asked motorists to avoid the area.

But RCMP Spokesperson Fraser Logan told Radio Canada early Tuesday morning that traffic was flowing again, although congestion remained.

Trucks and other vehicles began parking on the highway near Coutts last month in solidarity with similar protests in Ottawa and across the country over COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers and broader public health measures.

One blockade, which stranded travellers and truckers for days, became two when a second one appeared further up the highway near Milk River. 

The impasse stranded travellers and cross-border truckers for days, compromised millions of dollars in trade and impeded access to basic goods and medical services for area residents.

Last week, protesters agreed to open a single lane in each direction for traffic and so truckers could haul cargo across the border.