Rainy weather makes for ‘rough morning commute,’ accidents everywhere
Oct 9, 2018, 9:35 AM
(WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Wet roads led to a handful of accidents up and down I-5 and beyond Tuesday morning. State troopers urge drivers to exercise caution in the rain.
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“It hasn’t been the best commute,” said State Trooper Rick Johnson.
That’s probably an understatement, as the downtown I-5 corridor alone saw upwards of five separate traffic incidents before 9 a.m. Tuesday. Major incidents across the city this morning included:
- Major delays due to multiple crashes on the Viaduct and in the Battery St. Tunnel
- Southbound I-5 south of Yesler down to a single lane early in the morning
- The Columbian Way on-ramp to southbound I-5 completely blocked by a “disabled vehicle”
- A collision blocking the I-5 southbound express lanes on-ramp from SR 522
The morning’s travel times were considerably slowed down across the board, featuring what WSDOT labeled as “an ugly map” with some “very large red numbers.”
Good morning. Another day of wet roads = another rough commute morning so far. Please slow down, increase your following distance, turn on your headlights, be extra alert for pedestrians & bikes. Let's be safe out there.
— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) October 9, 2018
Trooper Johnson’s advice for drivers: Take it easy.
“We’re just asking people people to slow it down,” he said. “When the roadways are wet, you need more stopping distance.”
Traffic incidents and collisions are an inevitable part of any morning commute, but once the rainy season starts in earnest, exercising extra caution is a necessity.
