As the latest storm to hit our region moves in, complaints are piling up about the state of highways in New Brunswick.

One MLA says it was the worst he's seen on Route 2 between Moncton and Fredericton in 15 years.

The problem is ice: packed hard and all but cemented to the road.

The minus 20 C temperatures certainly haven't helped and make for rough driving conditions, almost like driving over a cheese grater.

Wednesday morning, a tractor trailer slid across Route 2 near Havelock and closed that part of the highway.

New Brunswick's energy minister was trying to get to Fredericton at the time:

“You could feel at times that it was something other than yourself that had control of the vehicle that had control, it was a little sketchy,” said Mike Holland, who says he's been trying to get to the capital city for two days now.

A “travel not recommended” advisory has been in place for several major highways since Sunday's storm.

The company that maintains route two between Moncton and Fredericton says they're working on removing the ice buildup and are hoping warmer temperatures will help.

“You can't keep people off the highway, but I would advise if you absolutely have to be on the highway drive with extreme caution,” said Allan Giberson, the general manager of MRDC, the company that clears Route 2. “Let our crews get the ice removed off the surface of the road.”

The RCMP say there were about 20 incidents on highways clear across the province between 6 a.m. Wednesday morning and noon, and that was before any of this weather started.

Snow turned to rain on Wednesday and the temperature is expected to rise to 8 C on Thursday.

“Maybe by the end of tomorrow we're back down to pavement,” said Holland.

In Saint John, it was another race against time for crews to clear ice-packed city streets and storm drains before another round of rain and freezing rain.

Residents are being warned to brace-themselves for the possibility of more flooding.   

City crews were out in force in the city’s north end Wednesday. They were using heavy machinery to cut through snow and ice-packed streets before another storm arrived.

“This ice is like concrete and despite the fact that we've been applying sand and salt it's not doing its job because it's so cold,” said Mayor Don Darling.

Kevin Connors is doing the same thing, but on a much smaller scale. He was chipping through the thick ice in his driveway to create a path to divert water.

“If we do get any amount of rain, it'll flow away from the house and hopefully keep everything dry,” said Connors.

Avid walker Phillip Webb is using a walking stick with a tungsten tip to get around, something he's relying on to keep himself steady on these slippery sidewalks.

“You can't walk without that, you'll fall flat on your face, and I'm good on my feet,” Webb said. “That's just a given. I think the city is doing a good job, given the conditions.”

The city is asking people to keep catch basins clear if they see one of them blocked. The city has 6,000 of them and not enough workers to get to all of them at once.

Officials are also urging residents to keep entryways and fire exits clear of ice.

Drivers are being asked to stay off the roads altogether if possible - but especially to avoid any flooded areas.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown and Laura Lyall.