Weather News: I-5 About to Close in Chehalis

By Erik Robinson, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

Dec. 3–Creeping high water may force the total closure of Interstate 5 today through Lewis County, near Chehalis, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Already, the state has closed the right northbound lane 72 miles north of Vancouver.

A full closure of the northbound and possibly southbound lanes is imminent and likely to happen by early afternoon, state officials said.

Transportation experts are asking people to refrain from traveling on Interstate 5, noting that Lewis County officials closed the paralleling Jackson Highway earlier today due to flooding problems.

If and when I-5 is closed, there will be no detours north or south through Lewis County.

Dillenbaugh Creek, which usually flows through a culvert under the four lanes of Interstate 5, has swelled beyond the culvert’s capacity to pass it through, a state engineering supervisor said this morning. The flooding is occurring near a construction project at LaBree Road south of Chehalis, where the state is adding a freeway interchange and a third lane each way.

An engineering supervisor said the flooding is not related to the construction project.

“The capacity of the I-5 culvert is being exceeded by the flow of Dillenbaugh Creek,” said Bart Gernhart, region engineer for the Washington Department of Transportation. “It’s building up and starting to encroach on the right northbound lane, and it’s just a matter of time before it covers the (whole freeway).”

But that’s not the worst news.

Gernhart said state officials expect the Chehalis River to crest on Tuesday. State officials are worried that a levee protecting the Centralia-Chehalis airport could then worsen the situation for the freeway.

“Once the water goes over the levee, the levee will (keep) the water on the interstate,” Gernhart said. “Now, we’re stuck with the highway going through a bathtub.”

The freeway last closed due to flooding in February 1996, when water jumped the banks of the Chehalis River and covered I-5 with 10 feet of water. The state alleviated flooding at that time by temporarily puncturing the levee near the airport, allowing floodwater to drain away once the rain slackened.

“The river, we anticipate cresting tomorrow,” said Sylvia Ross, a spokeswoman for the highway department in Vancouver. “If you don’t have to travel north or south in Western Washington today, don’t.”

For county-by-county road closure updates, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/news/update.

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