State road crews working to ease commute home

Published 9:00 pm Monday, November 27, 2006

State road crews are taking advantage of this afternoon’s sun break to prepare for what is feared could become a hellish evening commute with temperatures plunging well below freezing.

In northern Snohomish County and Camano Island, thousands of people, have been without power all day.

“If you can avoid heading out, avoid it,” said Lauren Chudecke, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation. “If you’re going to be on the road, prepare for winter conditions.”

The National Weather Service is calling for clear and chilly condition’s tonight, with temperatures expected to dip to 14 degrees in Everett.

The service issued a winter storm watch for Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

A storm front is expected to reach the Puget Sound region Wednesday evening, bringing more snow, sleet and freezing rain. Travelers should anticipate potentially adverse driving conditions, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the service’s Seattle office.

Winds are expected to shift southerly, bringing warm air late Wednesday or early Thursday, but it’s too early to say exactly when, Burg said.

Today, state highway crews were fanning out along major commute routes in the greater Puget Sound area, applying de-icer and sand, making sweeps with plows and graders, Chudecke said.

The hope is that the efforts will remove enough water from I-5, I-405 and I-90 to prevent them from freezing over again, the spokeswoman said.

However, Chudecke warned that areas that stay shaded, such as underpasses, still carry the risk of black ice.

State road crews focused much of their attention clearing snow and ice from trouble spots near the Lynnwood at the interchange between I-5 and I-405 interchange, and also along I- 405 from Kirkland to Swamp Creek, Chudecke said.

At noon today, 13,000 Public Utility District customers remained without power, said Mike Thorne, a spokesman with the utility.

Northern Snohomish County and Camano Island were hardest hit. Snow-laden trees and branches toppled onto power lines.

The greatest concentration of outages are in Lake Goodwin, Stanwood, Arlington, Darrington and Oso, Thorne said.

Other utility districts from eastern Washington have arrived to assist with restoration efforts along with private contractors, Thorne said.

Snow began falling Sunday, and by Monday, the number of customers without electricity climbed to nearly 59,000.

He said it is difficult to say when customers will all have their power restored.

“We certainly understand what they’re going through,” Thorne said.