All lanes reopen on northbound I-5 after closure for multi-car collision

Fans attempting to get to the Seahawks vs. Lions game early on Monday came to a stop on I-5 after a multi-car collision closed down the freeway.

The closure of northbound I-5 was expected to take much longer, but the state patrol opened the two center lanes, at 3:10 p.m. and kept the left and right lanes closed. Before 4 p.m., all lanes were open to traffic. The lanes were closed for approximately 2 hours.

The five-car incident caused a 7-mile backup in both directions. Despite the reopening of the northbound lanes, traffic remained slowed through the area. Washington State Trooper Chris Webb said that many drivers were slowing to take pictures of the scene.

“If you are leaving for the Seahawks game, you really need to think about taking another route, like State Route 99 or 167,” said Trooper Chris Webb with the Washington State Patrol.

“We had a vehicle traveling southbound on I-5 north of 320th in the Federal Way area. That vehicle somehow lost control, went through the median and hit several vehicles traveling northbound,” he said. “All the lanes northbound I-5 are blocked at 320th.”

The incident near mile marker 143 resulted in at least two injuries and one possible fatality, Webb said. The collision closed off a gap in northbound I-5 traffic between 320th Street and 272nd Street.

“You’re not going on I-5, at least between 320th and 272nd Street,” Webb said, noting that drivers should find a route around that gap, and that northbound I-5 lanes will be open north of 272nd Street.

“The southbound lanes are very slow from about 272nd all the way up to the scene,” he said. “If you are driving southbound you are going to be affected.”