Date:
Monday, November 27, 2006
Contact:
Jamie Holter, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4472 (Seattle)
Lisa Murdock, WSDOT Communications, (360) 357.2789 (Olympia)
SEATTLE - Washington State Department of Transportation crews have been working non-stop for the past two days clearing ice and snow in the lowlands and heading up to the passes to assist in road clearing there. We have 190 vehicles in Western Washington working this storm.
Here are some of the critical areas at this hour:
Whatcom County
- Drivers should watch for blowing snow in the east county area.
- I-5 south of Bellingham has patches of snow and ice. Drivers should navigate the roads with extreme care.
- Crews say stay home if you can.
Skagit County
- Highway 9 is closed between SR 534 and Bryant Road due to falling trees. This five mile section will reopen when WSDOT crews determine it is safe.
- SR 543 - Closed between English Road and Bulson Road due to downed power lines.
- The iciest spots are north of Marysville.
- There is compact snow and ice on many roads between Arlington and Darrington.
- I-5 is in good condition.
Snohomish County
- Roads are clearing up.
- Watch for extra traffic on I-5 due to the SR 9 closure in North Snohomish/ South Skagit counties.
- More snow is forecast for south/north Snohomish County today. We expect up to two to four inches.
King County
- State highways are in good condition.
- More snow is possible for east King County today above 500 feet.
- Pierce County
- No state highway road closures at this time.
Thurston County
- It is snowing heavily at this time, but no roads are closed.
Clallam County
- SR 112 is closed from milepost 23.0 to milepost 61.0 in both directions, between the SR 113 interchange near the community of Pysht and the U.S. 101 interchange near Port Angeles, in Clallam County. Heavy snow accumulation has forced maintenance crews to close the highway in both directions. We closed the road yesterday at 8 p.m.
- SR 117, known locally as Tumwater Truck Road, is closed from milepost 0.0 to milepost 1.4 in both directions due to heavy snow accumulation. We closed the road yesterday at 5:10 pm.
Snoqualmie Pass
- Traction tires are required over the summit. Trucks over 10,000 GVW must use chains.
- Avalanche control is scheduled for 9 a.m. We will stop both directions of I-90 for one hour between Gold Creek and Price Creek. The area has received more than 12 inches of snow in the past 24 hours
Interesting facts:
- WSDOT has more than 190 trucks on the road in greater Puget Sound working this storm. Equipment includes snow plows, sanders, dump trucks, graders and deicers.
- We have more than 250 people working the roads.
- We applied de-icer to many roads overnight, however drivers should always pay extra attention to ramps, bridges and overpasses.
- We are not metering the ramps to the interstates to be sure drivers have the traction they need to accelerate from the ramps to the freeway.
What can drivers do?
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