What highways, state routes are closed due to the bomb cyclone?
Nov 20, 2024, 6:04 AM | Updated: 1:20 pm
SR 18, currently closed, near the Tiger Mountain summit. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
(Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
A plethora of roads, highways and streets have been blocked and littered with debris following last night’s bomb cyclone that swept across the Pacific Northwest.
Transportation and maintenance crews are currently working to clear roads and make any necessary repairs. As of 10 a.m. Nov. 20, here are the current conditions of major thoroughfares affected by the storm.
More on the PNW’s bomb cyclone: ‘Multiple day outage’ expected as hundreds of thousands have lost power in Western Washington
State Route 9
State Route 9 (SR 9) between Sedro-Woolley and Wickersham (milepost 60 to milepost 66) is closed due to downed trees and powerlines.
“There is no estimate when NB & SB traffic will reopen,” the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) stated. “Please seek alternate routes and add time to your travel plans.”
Fully blocking due to downed trees/powerlines, no ETA for reopening:
– SR 20 at Ensley Road (MP 77) in Hamilton
– SR 9 are closed between Sedro-Woolley and Wickersham (MP 60-66)➡️Crews are busy trying to clean up from the storm & make repairs. Please delay travels, if possible https://t.co/VusTVsvakZ pic.twitter.com/RGnLAUydKT
— WSDOT North (@wsdot_north) November 20, 2024
There is no current ETA for reopening SR 9, as of this reporting.
More on the storm: At least 1 killed as falling trees cause multiple issues in Western Washington
State Route 20
State Route 20 (SR 20) is blocked entirely due to debris at Ensley Road (milepost 77) in Hamilton.
“Crews are busy trying to clean up from the storm & make repairs,” WSDOT said. “Please delay travels, if possible.”
State Route 164
State Route 164 (SR 164) is closed in both directions (east and west) near Southeast 368th Place (milepost 5) early Wednesday after fallen trees and downed power lines southeast of Auburn were spotted and identified by WSDOT repair crews. There is no ETA to reopen the road, as of this reporting.
EB & WB SR 164 are blocked at SE 368th Pl (MP 5) southeast of Auburn due to fallen trees and downed power lines.
We have no estimate when the road will reopen. People traveling through the area should seek alternate routes and add time to their travel plans. pic.twitter.com/btlUal1gTg
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) November 20, 2024
State Route 169
State Route 169 (SR 169) and Renton-Maple Valley Road are closed at SE Jones Road (milepost 19). There are closures on SR 169 at 216th Ave SE in Maple Valley, at Summit Drive in Black Diamond and at 400th Street, near Enumclaw.
Here is a list of what is FULLY blocked from fallen trees and/or downed power lines.
-EB & WB SR 164 at SE 368th Pl (MP 5) SE of Auburn
-EB & WB SR 18 is closed btwn I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Road
-NB & SB SR 169/Renton-Maple Valley Rd are closed at SE Jones Road (MP 19)— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) November 20, 2024
SR 169 is fully closed between Jones St & SR 18 as crews work to remove tree debris that fell on power lines. (Photo courtesy of WSDOT)
State Route 18
State Route 18 (SR 18) was initially shut down by WSDOT on Nov. 19 at approximately 8 p.m., but reopened at approximately 11 a.m. The state route was closed in both directions between I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Road near the Tiger Mountain summit for hours due to multiple downed trees on the highway.
CLEARED 11/20 10AM: Both directions of SR 18 between I-90 and Issaquah-Hobart Rd have now reopened!
Thank you for everyone’s patience and a huge THANK YOU to the crews out there working on clearing the road!! There was a lot of work to get the road cleared and the trees cleared. https://t.co/wFezBYqKKe pic.twitter.com/zikysER44e— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) November 20, 2024
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Interstate 405
Traffic heading north on Interstate 405 (I-405) was shut down after a downed tree blocked four lanes of the highway Tuesday night just south of Interstate 90 (I-90t. Crews removed the tree and reopened the highway at approximately 12 a.m.
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
