Major Highway 1 collision causing extensive traffic delays in Metro Vancouver

A serious collision has closed a major section of Highway 1 through Burnaby for several hours on Wednesday morning, and police are urging drivers to take alternative routes.

DriveBC first posted about the motor vehicle incident on social media just before 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 23.

At the time, DriveBC reported that all westbound lanes on Highway 1 at Kensington Avenue were blocked.

However, police have since closed Highway 1 westbound between Kensington Avenue and Sprott Street completely as they continue to investigate the collision.

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“Traffic is being directed off Highway 1 at Kensington Avenue and back onto Highway 1 via Sprott Street,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj of the Burnaby RCMP in a release issued at 6:21 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Additionally, the Highway 1 westbound on-ramp from Kensington is also closed. You cannot access Highway 1 westbound from Kensington Avenue.”

The closure is expected to be in place throughout the morning rush hour and could potentially last until the afternoon.

“Please utilize an alternate route if possible,” added Cpl. Kalanj. “More details will be provided when available.”

Photos shared by DriveBC show huge delays on Highway 1 westbound.

Google Maps is also showing extensive delays on alternate routes like Lougheed Highway and Barnet Highway.

No details have been released by police as to any injuries caused by the motor vehicle incident.

It was recently revealed that Vancouverites have one of the longest commutes in the country.

On average, drivers in Vancouver are clocking in 23 kilometres while driving to and from work, the third-biggest commute in the country. Ottawa is in second place at 24 kilometres, and Toronto is in first at 32 kilometres, according to the MoneySuperMarket Commuter Carpooling Index.

MoneySuperMarket, a platform where consumers can compare prices on things like insurance, looked at 150 cities worldwide, analyzing traffic speeds, commute distances, and congestion.

This isn’t the only report that ranks Vancouver’s traffic poorly.

According to the INRIX 2025 Global Traffic Scorecard, Vancouver was the third-worst city in Canada (and one of the worst worldwide) for traffic congestion.

Another report from the TomTom Traffic Index found that Vancouver was actually the most congested city in Canada in 2025, based on comparing peak travel times to the lowest travel times.