Early commute crashes on I-5 south snarl traffic in VancouverFree

Commuters heading south on freeways in Vancouver this morning were greeted by a sea of red lights and long backups on both Interstate 5 and 205 South.

Collisions on the I-5 Bridge at 5:51 and 6:16 a.m. kicked off traffic backups, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation, with the crashes blocking the left lane. There was no word on injuries.

WSDOT tweeted that the lanes were clear about 6:30 a.m. but the damage was done.

By 7 a.m. traffic was backed up on I-5 South to Hazel Dell with traffic stop-and-go on state Highway 500 to St. Johns Boulevard and on Highway 14 to the Vancouver Land Bridge. The spillover also hit downtown Vancouver with congestion on surface streets that approached the freeway.

I-205 South also saw slowing almost to the merge with I-5 before 8 a.m., with the onramps from east and west Highway 500 snarled.

WSDOT reported a collision on Highway 14 west in the bus lane near the 164th Avenue exit about 6:35 a.m.

By 7:30 a.m. Highway 14 was almost at a standstill both east- and westbound approaching I-205, with slowing westbound stretching east of 192nd Avenue.

A crash on I-205 near the bridge also caused delays for already backed up traffic.

Check out The Columbian’s traffic map for the latest details.