Southbound I-5 near train derailment area ‘could be closed for several days’

Southbound Interstate 5 will be closed through at least the Wednesday morning commute in the area around the deadly train derailment near DuPont.

“I want to stress that I-5 still could be closed for several days,” Travis Phelps, a state Department of Transportation spokesman, said.

Alternate routes are also backed up.

Traffic extended 16 miles on southbound state Route 507 into Yelm. The State Patrol recommended drivers take state Route 16 to state Route 3.

“All these routes are going to be jam-packed,” Phelps said. “None of these routes can handle the capacity of I-5.”

Crews are working to clear the scene at Mounts Road of wreckage, but it is a tedious process slowed by the rain.

Four of 14 rail cars from Train 501 were lifted by cranes onto a flatbed truck Tuesday morning and moved to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where they will be stored during the investigation.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Southbound I-5 near train derailment area ‘could be closed for several days’."