Looking for a way around the I-5 closure in Western Washington? Good luck with that

People looking for a way around the closure of Interstate 5 in Western Washington don’t have any good options.

In fact, the Washington State Department of Transportation advised drivers to not even try Friday morning.

“There’s no established alternate routes for the I-5 closure in #LewisCounty between Grand Mound (mp 88) and US 12 south of #Chehalis (mp 68) The possible alternate route are also under flood watch. What can you do? Please delay your travel until further notice,” the department tweeted.

Trying to head over the Cascades is impossible at the moment, with all the major highway passes closed by heavy snow and avalanche danger.

Drivers thinking of making their way west to U.S. 101 face a long detour, and flooding is an issue across southwestern Washington on Friday morning, with water over the roadway at various points along state Routes 6 and 4 and a landslide near South Bend.

“Drivers should delay travel until flood water recedes,” WSDOT reiterated on its website Friday morning.

This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Looking for a way around the I-5 closure in Western Washington? Good luck with that."