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 - WSDOT crews are making progress on opening roads closed because of flooding. More than 30 closures have been cleared since the peak of the flooding began. WSDOT crews worked hard today to establish a detour route on SR 7 for high priority trucks and vehicles stopped on either side of the I-5 closure. However, a new mud slide this afternoon foiled those hopes. WSDOT crews are not able to open SR 7 and the road will remain closed tonight. No alternate truck detours are available at this time.

"Our crews have been working very hard and we're optimistic that we can possibly get I-90 open at some point on Friday," said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. "We'll have a better idea Friday morning," she said. WSDOT crews and emergency contractors are working around the clock to repair the highway and re-open to traffic. Snow is falling on Snoqualmie Pass and WSDOT is back plowing snow.

US 12 White Pass is still closed between Morton and Packwood. The roadway has several washouts, mudslides and areas with water over the roadway.

US 2 has reopened to traffic after a two day closure caused by flooding and avalanche danger. The pass reopened at approximately 4:00 p.m. today, making it the only viable east-west route across the state. The Washington State Department of Transportation expects this route will be heavily used by drivers trying to get across the mountain passes. WSDOT has taken several steps to make sure traffic moves as smoothly as possible:

Three Incident Response Teams will be stationed from Monroe, across the summit and to Leavenworth to quickly respond to stalls, collisions and motorists in need of assistance.

• We have coordinated signal timing through Monroe to improve the flow of traffic
• Traction tires are required for passenger vehicles
• Chains are required for trucks over 10,000 lbs
  

WSDOT crews have spent today assessing conditions on all state highways, making minor repairs and getting emergency contract crews underway. While rain is subsiding, many rivers are still out of their banks.

Route information is available at the WSDOT web site, 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/ .

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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