‘Just ugly today’: Semi-truck crash grinds morning commute through SeaTac to a halt

A semi-truck collision that damaged a guardrail along northbound I-5 through SeaTac has traffic from the south end facing significant delays Thursday morning.

Monitor traffic conditions, travel times

As crews make repairs to the guardrail, the right two lanes of northbound I-5 just north of SR 516 in SeaTac are closed, with backups now extending over eight miles. As of 7 a.m., that had the travel time for drivers from Tacoma to Seattle up over two hours.

“Just ugly today,” KIRO Newsradio traffic reporter Chris Sullivan warned, while also advising drivers in the South Sound to delay or cancel morning trips entirely if possible.

Although the crashed semi-truck has already been removed from the roadway, the Washington State Department of Transportation says that workers will still need to repair “about 25 sections of guardrail including 100 posts” spanning nearly 400 feet.

“Expect this closure to last through the morning commute,” WSDOT added.

Repairs are being prioritized now rather than after the morning rush due to safety concerns related to “a large drop off the side of the road” next to the damaged guardrail.

Here's a picture of the collision from this morning. The guardrail you see is currently under repair now, which requires the two right lanes of northbound I-5 to be closed. Please drive slowly and cautiously through our work zone. pic.twitter.com/66P5ZliHJt

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) March 30, 2022

You can monitor travel times from WSDOT at this link.

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