Crashes shut down I-5 in Tacoma for hours

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Both directions of I-5 in Tacoma were blocked for hours after crashes between South 38th Street and SR 16 early Monday.

All lanes were open in both directions as of about 10:30 a.m.

The crashes, one northbound and one southbound, involved a semi-truck and a box truck that hit Jersey barriers.

Washington State Patrol said that at about 2:45 a.m., a box truck on southbound I-5 struck debris in the road, causing the truck to lose control and strike the Jersey barrier. At least six sections of barrier were damaged or moved into the northbound lanes causing a multi-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes.

About an hour later, a semi traveling the same stretch of road, but in the northbound lanes, struck the inside barrier, pushing it into the southbound lanes.

Some people were injured in the crashes, but the injuries were minor.

Crews removed damaged barriers or straightened barriers that could be reset.

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