SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — Backups along eastbound Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass were up to 5 miles long and took two hours to get through, says the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
On Monday, following a failure of concrete panels at Exit 62, the backups near Keechelus Lake grew to 10 miles and took four hours to get through.
WSDOT has completely closed all lanes of eastbound I-90, detouring traffic to the off- and on-ramps that bypass the short stretch of damaged pavement.
WSDOT says it has removed a stop sign to try and get traffic to move through the intersection faster.
Aggravating the congestion is the return of road traffic to pre-pandemic levels.
Traffic levels across the state’s main passes are back to normal on most days, after being down along with the rest of the state during the first weeks of the pandemic.
The state’s COVID-19 transportation dashboard shows I-90 traffic levels at or slightly below where they would have been at this time in 2019.
While WSDOT says 30,000 vehicles move through this section every day, that can double to 60,000 vehicles on the weekends.
WSDOT plans to have the road reopen by Friday morning in preparation for that heavier weekend traffic.