SEATTLE — Both directions on the Ship Canal Bridge reopened after a crash involving multiple cars early Sunday morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
James Poling, a spokesperson with WSDOT, said both directions are open at the Ship Canal Bridge after two crashes early Sunday morning. Northbound Interstate 5 was temporarily closed, and the southbound lanes were partially blocked due to the crash, causing a back-up.
WSDOT said around 4 a.m. Sunday, all lanes of northbound Interstate 5 were blocked north of State Route 520 because of a crash on the Ship Canal Bridge. The left three lanes of southbound I-5 were closed at the same location on the Ship Canal Bridge because of a crash that took place shortly after the northbound crash happened.
According to a crash report, two cars were traveling northbound on I-5 on the bridge in lane three, when one car struck another one and stopped in traffic. That’s when another car tried to move around them and struck another car, causing a four-car chain reaction. The road was blocked for about four hours.
Drivers who traveled downtown around 5 a.m. were expected to find alternative routes and plan for delays. The suggested routes included State Route 520 (toll across Lake Washington) or State Route 99 across the Ship Canal. People who traveled through the Seattle metro from the south were advised to use I-405 around the east side of Lake Washington or the SR 99 tunnel (toll) through downtown Seattle.
The lanes reported as of 7 a.m. Sunday.
5:10 a.m. update: For anyone just waking up or about to travel north from downtown Seattle, NB I-5 remains closed at the Ship Canal Bridge because of a significant collision.
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) November 17, 2024
Please plan alternate routes such as SR 99 Aurora Bridge or SR 520 (toll bridge across Lake Washington) https://t.co/fvFQnQGmkL pic.twitter.com/JUrBUrV0ap
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