Highway 1 in View Royal reopened early Thursday (March 13) after a dramatic multi-vehicle crash around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The highway was completely shut down in both directions between Helmcken Road and Six Mile Road for about an hour, West Shore RCMP said in a news release, while northbound lanes remained closed for several hours.

"The public can expect lengthy traffic delays lasting throughout the evening as emergency crews work the scene. The northbound lanes will remain closed for several hours," noted the release.

All four vehicles involved, which included two pickup trucks and two sedans, sustained significant damage and were spread across the northbound lanes, with one vehicle landing in the grass median between north and southbound lanes.

Police report two drivers sustained critical life-threatening injuries, while the other two drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. There were no passengers in any of the four vehicles. All drivers were taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Trans Canada Highway was completely shut down in both directions for about an hour, with northbound lanes remaining closed until just after midnight.

Despite a detour in place, drivers faced major delays due to congestion.

At 8 p.m. traffic along Gorge Road in Saanich was crawling, taking 10 minutes to move 100 metres.

"It's been a nightmare," said Joseph Leclerc from Langford, who had left Oak Bay about three hours earlier. "This shouldn't take so long. It's a shame."

Leclerc was heading to pick up his kids from a basketball camp in Langford after stopping in Oak Bay to pick up a picture.

"I guess picking it up today wasn't such a good idea."

Langford's Sheldon Davis was visiting a friend near Tillicum Mall. An hour later he was still only a few blocks away.

"This is ugly," said Davis, who questioned why there is only a single major arterial route westbound out of Victoria.

"They need to figure out another way."

The drivers said the traffic chaos was compounded by the months-long closure along Burnside Road and the decision to reduce Gorge Road from four lanes of traffic to two.

The cause of the collision has not yet been determined, however, police have ruled out impairment. The investigation is ongoing and police believe that a sedan travelling southbound on the Trans Canada Highway crossed over the centre median and into oncoming northbound traffic.