Two lanes of I-5 southbound to reopen at 5 p.m. Wednesday

The Washington State Department of Transportation announced it would reopen two lanes of southbound Interstate 5 at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the site of Monday’s fatal Amtrak train derailment.

All southbound lanes had been closed since the derailment left train cars dangling over the freeway near Mounts Road.

The news was outstanding for drivers trying to make their way south between Tacoma and Olympia. Many commuters had spent hours — some more than 6 — trying to navigate clogged highway detours.

WSDOT had recommended drivers take Route 16 across the Narrows Bridge to Route 3 as a detour, or to take routes 507, 7 and 302 through Yelm. Drivers also lined up for a local-traffic-only detour on Center Drive through Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“Drivers can expect heavy traffic on any alternate route and we are encouraging folks to only travel through the area if needed,” WSDOT said Wednesday morning.

By Wednesday morning, most of the derailed train cars had been removed, and engineers deemed the rail bridge structurally sound, according to WSDOT.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Two lanes of I-5 southbound to reopen at 5 p.m. Wednesday."