Date:
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Contact:
Public Road Condition Inquiries: Call 5-1-1/ out of state callers call 1-800-695-ROAD (7623).
WSDOT Road Condition Call Center 360-705-7000
OLYMPIA – More than 1,200 WSDOT crews plus National Guard members and Washington State Patrol troopers are out working to keep drivers safe and get close to 60 sections of roadway back open as soon as possible.
All major passes over the Cascades are closed and I-5 remains closed from exit 68 (11 miles south of Chehalis) to exit 88 (about 20 miles south of Olympia) due to flooding.
While forecasts call for the rain to subside, many rivers are still rising. There are no detours available and crews say the water on I-5 in Chehalis is still rising at close to one foot per hour.
Motorists should anticipate additional travel delays and road closures. Both I-5 and I-90 will remain closed until water levels have dropped and the roadway is determined to be suitable for traffic. It is too early to estimate the time for these openings.
Crews are working on the routes where they can.
SR 110 near Ballard Road in Forks has reopened to traffic, and drivers can now reach the Neah Bay area plus the Makah and LaPush Indian Reservations. WSDOT and WSP closed the roadway yesterday due to flooding over the roadway.
Route information is available at the WSDOT web site, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ and drivers are encouraged to check conditions along their entire route. WSDOT has established a county-by-county list of road closures at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/update/.
Close to 40,000 drivers cross Washington's Cascade Mountains each day, most travel on I-90. Approximately 7,000 trucks typically cross all the mountain passes daily. The area of I-5 through Lewis County see close to 55,000 drivers each day, with 10,000 of those trucks.
When Snoqualmie Pass is able to be re-opened, the detour route for the I-5 closure will include I-82, I-84 and I-90. This will add almost 400 miles to the trip between Seattle and Portland.
The main north south rail lines along I-5 are closed at Chehalis due to water over the lines. The Amtrak Cascades have cancelled service today.
There are no service bulletins for the Washington State Ferries at this hour and we are encouraging pilots to check for notices to airmen (NOTAMS) before flying. Several temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are expected throughout the state in response to emergency operations associated with the flooding and other weather related issues. TFRs are expected in western Washington, as well as areas in Spokane, Palouse, and Walla Walla. The TFRs are intended provide a safe environment for search and rescue operations. Current TFR information is available at: http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr_map_ims/html/index.html.
Read the WSDOT blog http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/ for more WSDOT stories, see photos from around the state on Fickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot and videos on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/wsdot.
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