I-5 open again in Chehalis

Published 11:55 am Friday, December 7, 2007

I-5 through Chehalis is now open to all traffic, state Department of Transportation officials announced.

Trucks had been allowed to go through starting yesterday, and now, after working around the clock for four straight days, this state’s most important north-south corridor is open again.

The flood waters that had buried the freeway since Monday started receding Wednesday evening after state workers breached a levee.

By Thursday afternoon, the receding waters revealed less highway damage than engineers had feared.

“Our crews have been working around the clock and getting I-5 open this fast after the flood is a great accomplishment,” said state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “We’ve still got work to do to get all of our highways back open to traffic.”