How are the roads? If you must go out, here are maps to check for closures, snow plows
Update as of 11:30 a.m.: The list of road closures in Tacoma, according to the city’s website, now includes:
- South 64th Street between M Street and Sheridan Avenue
- Division Avenue between Broadway Avenue and Stadium Way
- South Fourth Street between Fawcett Avenue and Stadium Way
- 33rd Street Northeast between 44th Avenue Northeast and Browns Point Boulevard
- Northeast 33rd Street between both ends of Browns Point Blvd along the golf course
- McMurray Road between Marine View Drive and Browns Point Boulevard
- Northeast Shorecliff
- East Fairbanks Street between Portland Avenue and East M Street
- East Valley View Terrace between McKinley Road and East L Street
- Browning Road between Grandview Avenue and Pioneer Way
- South 64th Street between South M Street and South Sheridan Street
- South 64th Street between Tacoma Mall Boulevard and the Tacoma Baptist Schools East Driveway
- South 30th Street between Pacific Avenue and South D Street
Update as of 11 a.m.: Washington State ferries will run on severe weather schedules today and tomorrow, if not longer.
“Travelers should plan ahead and check the severe weather schedules online and give themselves plenty of extra time to arrive to the terminal before their desired departure,” Washington State Ferries said in a press release. “It may take longer you longer than normal to reach the terminals and depending on weather conditions, and it may take crews longer to load the vessels.”
INITIAL POST: As South Sound crews worked to keep roads open after the region was blanketed with snow Friday night, officials reported various closures and advised drivers to be ready for ice, and to stay home when possible.
Pierce County reported downed trees closed Eatonville Highway from state Route 7 to Hillagoss Road, as well as 304th Avenue East at state Route 706 Saturday morning. The county posts updates and has a road closure map online.
“Drive cautiously: Be prepared for icy roads due to cold temperatures,” the county tweeted. “Our road crews continue to monitor conditions. Salt was applied to snow routes Friday night to reduce the risk of ice adhering to the roadway during periods of heavy snow accumulation. These are the roads that connect residential areas to state highways and key service centers.”
Tacoma also has a running list of road closures online. The only one reported Saturday morning was South 64th Street from M Street to Sheridan Avenue in Tacoma.
Olympia has a live plow map that shows where the machines are and which roads they’ve sanded, salted or plowed. It also shows which hills in the city are open and which are closed.
Thurston County’s road closure map didn’t show any snow closures Saturday morning.
The county tweeted: “All county priority routes are open this morning. There is lots of snow on residential and side streets though! Be careful and stay home if you can today.”
The Washington State Department of Transportation has online maps of freeway and highway conditions, and WSDOT Tacoma was reporting various crashes Saturday morning on its Twitter account.
Public transit
Pierce Transit has maps of its snow routes online.
“Good (snowy) morning, Pierce County!,” the agency tweeted. “All Pierce Transit routes that have snow routes are running on those snow routes this morning (2/13). Downtown Tacoma circulator in effect.”
Intercity Transit also reported snow detours online Saturday, and said they were likely to change throughout the day.
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 9:18 AM with the headline "How are the roads? If you must go out, here are maps to check for closures, snow plows."
