Collisions across Western Washington snarl region’s morning commute
Jan 9, 2019, 8:48 AM | Updated: 8:51 am
A collision at West Lake Sammamish Parkway snarled the morning commute Jan. 9, 2019, backing up traffic for 7 miles. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Clusters of collisions on Western Washington’s roads backed up traffic amid the Wednesday morning commute, causing travel times to swell.
Me the last 15 minutes with all these crash reports coming in ⬇️
We all remember what it’s like to travel on wet roads. Slow down, increase your following distance & give yourself extra time to reach your destination. #Slow4H2O pic.twitter.com/S0S10x07fU
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) January 9, 2019
A stalled truck blocked multiple lanes on SR99 in Seattle at South Holgate Street, backing up northbound traffic. That was cleared by 8:40 a.m., but the Washington State Department of Transportation told drivers to expect delays on SR99 to remain over the morning.
KIRO Radio Traffic Reporter Chris Sullivan said this is a preview of what will happen to traffic out of West Seattle during Viadoom, starting this month.
West Seattle Bridge is not moving. It is slammed EB thanks to I5 slowing and the stall on 99 near stadiums. Consider this a preview of the next three weeks during #Viadoom
— KIRO Radio Traffic (@KIROTraffic) January 9, 2019
Southbound I-5 drive slowed to an hour and 40 minutes from Everett to Seattle after a collision blocked multiple lanes near the SR520 exit. That scene was cleared by 8 a.m. The commute time grew to an hour and 20 minutes from Everett to Bellevue at the same time.
Westbound I-90 had a crash at West Lake Sammamish Parkway just beyond Eastgate. That scene was cleared by 8 a.m., but it caused a seven mile backup and a 40 minute delay extending past Issaquah.
A collision blocked two lanes on eastbound SR16 just southeast of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. By 8:15 a.m. it was blocking just one lane, with a 5 mile backup and a 25 minute delay.
Westbound SR18 suffered a collision at C Street in Auburn, slowing traffic getting into and through the city. That incident blocked one lane as well as an on ramp.
UPDATE: More lanes blocked on WB SR 18 at C St now that fire crews are on scene. Backup now past SR 164. #Auburn pic.twitter.com/hxVSEAyn1K
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) January 9, 2019
Even when one crash cleared northbound I-5 out of Seattle, a secondary crash immediately followed at the same location.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Just when this crash was about to clear NB I-5 near S 272nd, we had a secondary rear-end collision at the same location. Keep those 👀 on the road.<br><br>Right NB lane now blocked. <a href=”https://t.co/CisXBGXiGY”>pic.twitter.com/CisXBGXiGY</a></p>— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) <a href=”https://twitter.com/wsdot_traffic/status/1083042959950401537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The collisions added up to commute times extending far past their averages throughout the region.
Finally able to come up for air after that barrage of blocking incidents.
Seeing super-high travel times across the board, especially for those heading westbound from Issaquah & northbound on SRs 99/599. pic.twitter.com/rElksWuWqP
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) January 9, 2019
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