i-5 Seattle Traffic Blog

i-5 Seattle News Blog ...

> Expect congestion this weekend on I-5 ... Aug 20/09
Drivers headed through downtown this weekend on Interstate 5 likely will see delays due to preparation work for Sound Transit's next light rail link, the state Department of Transportation reported. Sound Transit crews are preparing the ground beneath I-5 for the tunnel-boring machine that will carve a 3-mile tunnel through Capitol Hill for the next light rail segment from downtown to University of Washington.... cont...

> A 405 alternative plan to the I-5 ... Aug 20/09
Two of Puget Sound's most congested highways could meet halfway in a bid to alleviate regional traffic trauma. So hope state transportation and legislative leaders. Different in personality but similar in function, more rural State Route 167 and more urbanized Interstate 405 hold a critical, direct link in whether the state ultimately can create a 50-mile-long "I-5 alternative" for commuters all too familiar with workday gridlock.... cont...

> Tacoma man killed on I-5 identified ... Aug 18/09
A man from Tacoma killed last Saturday when he tried to walk across Interstate 5 in Seattle was identified today by the King County Medical Examiner as Timothy L. Koch, 50. Koch was trying to cross the highway just north of Interstate 90 at about 8:15 p.m. when he was hit by a car.... cont...

> VIDEO: State Patrol busts reckless driver on I-5 ... Aug 18/09
An 18-year-old man ticketed for reckless driving and reckless endangerment was busted Sunday by a State Patrol airplane, whose crew watched his manuvers through North Seattle and Shoreline. About 9 p.m., troopers said the Ferndale man weaved in and out of traffic, cut off other driver.... cont...

> Visitor & Convention Bureau steps up to fill void along I-5 ... Aug 17/09
The Visitor and Information Center closed on July 1, the first day of the two-year budget cycle. But that opened the door for the Olympia Lacey Tumwater Visitor & Convention Bureau, whose leaders have agreed to lease the vacant space.... cont...

> Four charged in South Park drive-by shooting ... Aug 13/09
Four people accused of shooting an 18-year-old man in South Park were charged Thursday. Prosecutors allege Rudy Rapisura, 24, David B. Santos, 18, Jario Gomez-Cervantes, 18, and Armando Gomez-Pablo, 16, each took part in the drive-by shooting that left the man wounded in the back. A fifth person in the car, an 18-year-old man, was not charged. The incident began just after midnight Sunday when police received a call about shots fired.... cont...

> 1 killed in rollover crash off I-5 ... Aug 11/09
A 48-year-old Seattle man was killed when the car he was driving flipped over a guardrail at high speed as he exited Interstate 5 early Tuesday, State Patrol troopers said. The driver, identified as Daniel Lane, suffered multiple broken bones and loss of blood in the crash. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died from his injuries.... cont...

> Rain, Speed Blamed For Series Of Crashes ... Aug 11/09
One man is dead after a crash in the rain on Interstate 5 in Seattle. It was one of several collisions overnight after rain moved through the region for the first time in weeks. Troopers said speed was the primary factor in the fatal accident on I-5 at Michigan Street at about 1:45 a.m.... cont...

> Seattle driver dies in I-5 accident at Michigan off-ramp ... Aug 11/09
One man died when he lost control of his car on an off ramp on Interstate 5 near Boeing Field in Seattle. According to the Washington State Patrol, the 48-year-old Seattle man was going southbound on I-5 when he tried to take the Michigan off ramp at a high rate of speed..... cont...

> I-5 Tacoma Highway signs bypass city ... Aug 11/09
I returned from Amsterdam recently, and driving from Sea-Tac Airport on Highway 518 to Interstate 5, I noticed that the Department of Transportation has removed Tacoma from all the overhead southbound directional signs and replaced it with Portland. How many people fly into Sea-Tac to go to Portland?. As I recall, the airport is Seattle-Tacoma, not Seattle-Portland.... cont...

> Man and teen arrested on I-5 after drive-by shooting in South Park ... Aug 11/09
Seattle police arrested a man and a teenager on suspicion of drive-by shooting early Sunday morning after someone inside a South Park residence was struck by a bullet, according to a department spokesman.... cont...

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> Motorcyclist crashes after reaching 100+ mph ... Aug 2/09
A 22-year-old motorcyclist speeding down I-5 was seriously injured when he crashed into the back of an SUV early Sunday morning, troopers said. Scott Penley was weaving through traffic in the southbound lanes at speeds witnesses said were over 100 mph just before 1 a.m., said Trooper Guy Gill with the Washington State Patrol.... cont...

> Cigarette blamed for I-5 fire in Seattle ... July 29/09
Washington State Patrol troopers are blaming a lit cigarette for a brush fire in the median of Interstate 5 that backed up traffic for miles in the Seattle area. Firefighters and troopers responded to the fire at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday just north of South 200th Street, between Seattle and Tacoma near Federal Way. Two northbound lanes and all southbound lanes were closed for an extended period... cont...

> Bus sought in fatal Seattle hit-and-run ... July 24/09
Police are now looking for a bus that they believe was responsible for striking and killing a pedestrian Friday morning, then leaving the scene. Spokesman Jeff Kappel said police were called just after midnight by a man who found a body in the street under an Interstate 5 overpass near the intersection of 6th and Cherry. The victim was declared dead at the scene by fire department medics. Investigators later determined a light-colored bus with a dark stripe or dark tinted windows -- possibly a tour bus... cont...

> Transient shot dead in Seattle's i-5 jungle ... July 22/09
Seattle Police say a transient man was shot and killed in an area known as the "jungle." Police say at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, another transient man walked up to a parking enforcement officer in the 1700 block of Airport Way S and told him that a man had been shot at the camp underneath I-5... cont...

> Passenger shoots himself in leg ... July 19/09
A passenger in a car traveling north on Interstate 5 near Federal Way accidentally shot himself in the leg Sunday morning, according to the State Patrol. Just after 11 a.m., the man took out the gun to show other the occupants and it fired... cont...

> West Seattle Bridge to bear Jeanette Williams' name ... July 14/09
The Seattle City Council voted Monday to name the West Seattle Bridge to honor Jeanette Williams, the longtime City Council member who worked for many years to get the bridge built. By a 9-0 vote, the council approved a resolution asking the city Transportation Department to give the bridge a "secondary designation" as the "Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge." That means Williams could be honored with signs at each end of the bridge, but maps and signs on Interstate 5.... cont...

> Seattle might become a Leader in Clean Energy & Electric Vehicles ... July 10/09
As a new generation of electric vehicles prepare to enter the market, cities along the West Coast from Vancouver B.C. to San Diego are taking steps to get plug-in ready... and because of Seattle�s partnership with Nissan, Seattle will be leading the way and expects to be one of the first markets in the country to see Nissan�s highway-capable EV for sale in the fall of 2010.... cont...

> Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall comes to i-5 in Washington ... July 7/09
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall is coming to the i-5 corridor in Washington ... the traveling tribute wall will be on display from Thursday to Sunday, June 12, at Memorial Park in Bellingham... cont...

> Westbound I-90 bridge lanes to be closed for 2 weeks ... July 5/09
The Seattle area's summer traffic headache begins Sunday. Beginning at at 4 p.m. there will be only one westbound lane on the Interstate-90 floating bridge as crews prepare for two weeks of repair work. And beginning Monday at 5 a.m. all westbound I-90 traffic will be funneled into the two I-90 express lanes on Mercer Island... cont...

> DEA agents make arrests in I-5 drug smuggling ring ... July 3/09
Federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) along with state and local law enforcement officers have arrested 31 people following a lengthy investigation into a drug trafficking organization that supplied methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico for distribution in Washington. Drugs were transported along the Interstate 5 corridor in vehicles equipped with hidden compartments... cont...

> Suspect charged in SeaTac SUV theft and police chase ... July 2/09
A man who deputies say stole a Cadillac Escalade last month from a family unloading luggage at SeaTac International Airport was charged Thursday with motor vehicle theft, attempting to elude a police vehicle and two counts of first-degree malicious mischief. Anthony Craig Martin, 36, led King County Sheriff's deputies on a chase that one described as "one of the most reckless and dangerous I have witnessed... cont...

> Man shot to death in Seattle's i-5 "Jungle" ... June 27/09
A man in his 50s died after he was shot in the chest Friday night in "The Jungle," a brushy area of homeless encampments near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 90. Police responded to the scene at about 11:35 p.m. after receiving reports of as many as five shots fired near South Royal Brougham Way and Airport Way South. When officers arrived in the area, they found the victim underneath the freeway... cont...

> Troopers slightly injured in crash with suspected car thief ... June 26/09
Two troopers and a car-theft suspect suffered minor injuries early this morning after the alleged thief slammed his vehicle into the side of a pursuing State Patrol cruiser near Mountlake Terrace, the State Patrol reported. The incident occurred just after 1 a.m. at an exit to Interstate 5, State Patrol spokeswoman Christina Martin said... cont...

> Drivers sue 19 cities over traffic cameras ... June 25/09
A group of Washington drivers has filed a lawsuit against 19 cities saying drivers were charged too much for traffic infractions caught by cameras. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court, states the traffic infractions are illegal because state law requires infractions caught on camera to be less than or equal to parking tickets issued in the same jurisdiction. The eight plaintiffs, two of whom are from Pierce County, want refunds, damages and an injunction against cities... cont...

> Mount Vernon man jumps to his death on I-5 ... June 24/09
A 23-year-old Mount Vernon man jumped to his death from a viaduct that crosses over Interstate 5 just north of Kincaid Street in Mount Vernon early today. Mount Vernon police said the man was identified by family members... cont...

> Seattle, Nissan announce partnership to develop an electric car network ... June 20/09
The city of Seattle and Nissan North America said Tuesday they will work together to promote the development of an electric car charging network in Seattle. Nissan plans to introduce plug-in electric vehicles in 2010 in Seattle, along with other markets including Oregon and Tennessee, and mass market them globally two years later. A pilot project along Interstate 5, from Olympia to Seattle, will offer electric car drivers outlets to recharge and places to swap out batteries... cont...

> Former King County assessor sentenced to 8 months for i-5 DUI ... June 19/09
Former King County Assessor Scott Noble has been sentenced to eight months in jail for pleading guilty to vehicular assault. In January, Noble was arrested after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 5 that injured two women in another car... cont...

> I-5 Seattle brush fire creates huge traffic headache ... June 16/09
A car fire that spread to brush along Interstate 5 created a three mile backup during the Tuesday afternoon commute. The fire started after 4 p.m. along the northbound lanes at North Boeing Field. At one point, all lanes were blocked... cont...

> State Patrol seeks witnesses in I-5 death investigation ... June 14/09
The State Patrol is asking for the public's helps as it continues to investigate the death of a woman whose body was found May 28 on Interstate 5 in Seattle. The body of Rebekah J. Woods, 43, was found in the southbound lanes of I-5 just north of South Holgate Street... cont...

> I-5 express lane ramp in Seattle closed for one year ... June 11/09
Drivers heading to downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill are being advised that the reversible ramp from Pike and Pine streets to the Interstate 5 express lanes will be closed for about one year. The closure began at 11 p.m. Wednesday, June 10. Crews are preparing the ground beneath I-5 to make room for the tunnel-boring machine needed to construct a 3.15-mile light rail tunnel extension between downtown Seattle and the University of Washington... cont...