UPDATE | September 8, 2014, 6:30PM
WSDOT reports that westbound SR 18 over Tiger Mountain re-opened as of 6:30PM. Drivers should expect delays on WB 18 and WB 90 as traffic clears. PHEW!
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A semi truck and trailer tipped over just west of the Tiger Mountain summit on westbound SR 18 Monday afternoon, September 8, 2014, spilling fuel and closing both westbound lanes of the highway as of 3:30PM. There were no injuries in the accident according to police.
Tow truck were on route as of 4PM, according to state troopers. The Washington State patrol said via Twitter that the State Department of Ecology was on the scene around 4:15PM to assess and monitor the extent of the fuel spill, and that driver should expect the westbound closure to be lengthy.
State troopers also responded to the I-90/SR-18 interchange to control traffic over Tiger Mountain. Drivers trying to exit eastbound I-90 at off-ramp/exit 25 toward westbound SR 18 were being diverted back under the I-90 overpass and back onto westbound I-90 as a detour.
This created a traffic crunch near the I-90/SR-18 interchange Monday afternoon. One driver said traffic was nearly blocking all lanes of eastbound I-90 near exit 25. He warned other drivers to be prepared for the traffic standstill on the approach to the busy interchange.
Traffic in Issaquah was also being affected as many driver were using Issaquah/Hobart Road as a westbound alternative, according to one driver.
Around 4:45PM, WSP Trooper Chris Webb reported that the tow truck was hooking up to the semi. At 6PM, according to traffic cameras in the area, WB SR-18 was still closed.
Comments
Some years ago, I had heard that SR18 was slated to be completed as a divided highway all the way to I-90 by 2012. Then the downturn came. I travel this road frequently commuting to work. It is such a busy highway, and the segments over the summit are scary, between the narrow roadway and all the big trucks, which have increased quite a bit in number in the last year. It can be quite a slog. So is Issaquah-Hobart Road…with Issaquah residents repeatedly turning down a “bypass”. Here’s hoping SR 18 makes it back on the “to-do” list for roadways!
Here is the WA DOT project page for the SR 18 widening and I-90 interchange build-out. You can sign-up to get project updates on that page.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr18/auburntoi90/ihobart_i90/