UPDATE—————————————————————————
From WSDOT at 12:58 p.m. Friday: Both directions of I-5 between Grand Mound and Chehalis have reopened. Flood waters receded faster than expected.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE—————————————————————
Extreme weather is wreaking havoc on travel in Washington state, forcing officials to close major roadways and order evacuations.
As of Friday morning, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT_closed a 20-mile stretch of I-5 in Lewis County between Grand Mound (milepost 88) and US 12 south of Chehalis (milepost 68) due to rising flood waters.
There is no estimated time for I-5 to reopen.
“There are no established alternate routes for the I-5 closure. The possible alternate routes are also under flood watch and several roads have been closed due to flooding. Drivers should delay travel until flood water recedes,” WSDOT said.
The road closure has resulted in major traffic backups on I-5.
Lewis County – WSP Pilots took some great aerial shots of the area. #1- NB I5 Backup #2-Chehalis Airport #3-SR 6 Near Adna #4-SR 6 Littell pic.twitter.com/UqtGeEvtKS
— Trooper Will Finn (@wspd5pio) January 7, 2022
Also closed due to flooding or mudslides are the following roadways:
- SR 109 at milepost 2 near Hoquiam
- SR 108 at milepost 5 near McCleary
- SR 507 in Bucoda
Officials have ordered Skokomish Valley residents to evacuate due to flooding.
Evacuations issued by local officials for the Skokomish Valley due to flooding. You can read the alert here. https://t.co/yRuVuOwqWv pic.twitter.com/RIczeHCsu1
— WA Emergency Management (@waEMD) January 6, 2022