I-5 Closure Yesterday—Klog 100.7 News

The weather late yesterday morning and into the afternoon caused an absolute mess on local roads. The worst of it was on Interstate 5 between Castle Rock and Highway 12. The freeway was closed in both directions due to crashes and vehicles getting stuck for hours. Hundreds of vehicles and their occupants were left stranded on the roadway from before noon until sunset in some cases.

The worst of the crashes involved 22 cars that occurred just after 11:30 a.m. on southbound I-5 at milepost 60 near Exit 59 in Toledo. Washington State Patrol spokesperson William Finn reported that the crash resulted in at least six people being taken to three different area hospitals. The names of those involved and their current condition are not known at this time.

The roadway was fully closed until around 3 p.m., when one lane finally opened up for some people to get through. The rest of the roadway was reopened shortly after 5 p.m.

The major delay on northbound I-5 yesterday afternoon occurred near the same area. It was reported that all lanes of northbound I-5 were closed around noon due to a semi-truck blocking the entire roadway. The truck could be seen in pictures completely sideways at milepost 56, just south of Jackson Highway in Castle Rock. The northbound lanes reopened around 2:30 p.m.; however, delays due to other incidents continued into the evening.

Overnight, the struggles continued as snow began to fall again. I-5 was closed in both directions at milepost 52 in Castle Rock around 8:50 p.m., and by 9:15 p.m. it reopened.

Throughout this ordeal, local authorities said other side roads had major issues as well, as people tried to go around the freeway closure. They recommended that people not rely on their navigation systems because they were unable to maintain those roads in the snow while dealing with the issues on the freeway. Authorities also once again had to tell people not to drive in reverse on the freeway in an attempt to get out of traffic, as vehicles were backed up for hours.

There was also an issue with cars running out of fuel as they idled. Crews were able to come around with gas and diesel cans to ensure people could get going and avoid staying cold while they waited.