Eight feet of water closes I-5 until at least Thursday in Lewis County
Tuesday, December 4, 2007 4:09 PM PST
By Andre Stepankowsky
Printable version
E-mail this articleA 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 through Lewis County will be closed at least into Thursday, and possibly longer, the Washington Department of Transportation announced this morning.
"There's eight feet of water over the road. We can't even see it," WSDOT spokesman Alice Fiman said this morning.
Once the waters of the Chehalis River and other creeks recede, the agency will need to do damage and cleanup assessment, she said.
The interstate is closed between Exits 68 about 11 miles south of Chehalis and Exit 88 near Grand Mound.
Passenger vehicles are allowed to detour around the closure on U.S. 12 and State Route 7, which meets U.S. 12 at Morton. Trucks are prohibited from using that route and must take a 440-mile detour using Interstates 84, 82 and 90.
It was not immediately known whether county roads through the flooded area were open as alternatives.
WSDOT is advising that all non-essential trips be delayed for at least 36 hours.
Other Lewis County road closures include:
-SR 505 is closed at milepost 3, milepost 7.5 and milepost 9.
-SR 506 is closed at milepost 3 due to water over the roadway.
-SR 508 is closed at milepost 26 due to a mudslide.
-SR 7 is currently open, but trucks with a load limit over 10,000 Gross Vehicle Weight are prohibited.
Check tdn.com for further updates.
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