Traffic on I-5 in Washington Reopens Today

Washington Department of Transportation crews are working around the clock to get highways open.

This is what it looked at in Chehalis at the height of the flood, this is I-5 almost completely submerged underwater. Photo courtesy: Washington Department of Transportation

(OLYMPIA, Wash.) - Road crews in Washington have partially reopened Interstate 5 at Centralia. They prepared a northbound lane and a southbound lane through the flood area for low-speed truck traffic Thursday, after receding flood waters revealed less damage to the Interstate than anticipated.

The lanes opened to commercial freight haulers shortly after 5:00 PM Thursday. After 8:00 PM, an 11-mile portion of southbound I-5 was reopened to all traffic. All vehicles may now enter the southbound lanes of I-5 at SR 6 in Chehalis and continue south with no further closures.

North of the highway closure, southbound traffic continues to be diverted from I-5 at Grand Mound.

All northbound traffic except heavy trucks is being diverted from I-5 at the US 12 interchange, at milepost 68.

This morning WSDOT crews moved hundreds of Jersey barriers that were shifted by swift flood waters back into the I-5 median in Chehalis.

Crucial Artery

There is no doubt that the freeway closure has had a huge impact on residents. I-5 is a crucial freight and travel artery for the entire West Coast and the most heavily used highway in the state. Transportation officials in Washington say it is critical to the regional, state and national economy.

The annual value of trade between the greater Seattle and Portland metro regions was $19.7 billion in 2002, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Highway Administration Freight Analysis Framework.

The End Result

WSDOT will restore and reopen state highways as soon as they are safe for drivers. Floodwaters can bring

# Shortly after 6 p.m. WSDOT crews opened one lane in each direction on I-5 in Chehalis to commercial vehicles over 10,000 gross vehicle weight. No oversize loads or passenger vehicles allowed. Crews are working to move median barrier back into place and get the freeway open to all traffic sometime tomorrow (Friday).

Transportation crews there say they will restore access on routes affected by recent flooding as soon as possible. The crews in the meanwhile, continue to maintain detour routes for local access, emergency vehicles and truckers.