Date:
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Contact:
Jamie Holter, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4788
Lisa Murdock 360.357.2789 (Olympia)
SEATTLE – WSDOT crews are working around the clock clearing snow, applying sand and deicer and responding to blocking incidents. The morning commute appears to be thinning out.
Here are some of the critical areas at this hour:
Thurston County
- Southbound I-5 near Grand Mound is now open. It opened at 8:45 a.m.
- Northbound I-5 at the Thurston/Lewis county line has slow moving traffic. The worst area is from milepost 85 to 92, the Maytown rest area.
Pierce County
- SR 512 was reopened at 6:36 am after extensive sanding.
- The Tacoma Narrows bridge deck is icy. Traffic is moving very slowly. We cannot use sand on the bridge deck. Liquid de-icing units are en route. Semi-trucks restricted to right lane only for westbound travel.
- The SR 16/I-5 interchange is also icy.
- Difficult driving at SR 167 and SR 410, the interchange is icy.
King County
- SR 518 to and from SeaTac Airport looks good.
- Westbound SR 516 to northbound I-5 is now open.
Snohomish County
- The rest areas at Smokey Point on northbound and southbound I-5 are still closed due to power outage.
Whatcom County
- All roads north of Bellingham have compact snow and ice. Conditions are better south of Bellingham.
- Bellingham has low visibility and winds up to 30 miles per hour.
Skagit County
- SR 9 is now completely open.
- Most roads are bare and wet, but it is extremely cold.
Jefferson County
- Chains are strongly recommended for semi-trucks on U.S. 101 between the Big Quilcene River (milepost 297) and Bee Mill Road (milepost 303) in the Mt. Walker.
Island County
- Highway 20 south of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island has compact snow and ice. Drivers should watch for downed trees.
Clallam County
- SR 117 (Tumwater Truck Road) near Port Angeles remains closed to traffic in both directions until further notice due to snow and ice glaze.
Snoqualmie Pass
- I-90 Snoqualmie Pass - traction tires advised.
Alternate Passes
- US 2 Stevens Pass – Traction tires required. Chains required on vehicles over 10,000 gross vehicle weight.
- US 12 White Pass – traction tires required
- US 97 Blewett Pass – no restrictions
Interesting facts:
- The WSDOT Web page is experiencing a tremendous amount of activity. Please be patient if you can’t access the page you want.
- WSDOT has turned off the travel times function on the Web site because it cannot accurately reflect traffic in these icy conditions.
- Drivers can expect these conditions to continue into the morning commute as temperatures
- We have more than 100 trucks on the road right now.
What can drivers do?
- If you can, stay at home and wait until driving conditions improve. If you must travel, drive for winter conditions by slowing down and keeping extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you. If you find yourself stranded, be safe and stay in your car, put on your flashers, call for help and wait until it arrives.
- Check the web before you head out to get an accurate picture of conditions. www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/.
- Drivers can call 511 from any phone to get timely updates on the road. If you’re on the road, have a passenger call 511 to get timely updates on the road. You can also view our traffic page, including mountain pass reports, on your cell phone or PDA’s
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