Traffic backed up all over the Vancouver-Portland area Wednesday morning, largely due to Interstate 84 being closed between Interstates 5 and 205 for a shooting investigation. Several crashes were also reported in Oregon in the backup.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, traffic on I-5 south was backed up almost to Salmon Creek; I-205 south was stop-and-go traffic to state Highway 500 as of 8 a.m. The backups spilled into downtown Vancouver, blocking surface streets and forcing C-Tran buses to reroute. Express trips into Portland for the remainder of the morning commute may also experience delays due to heavy traffic on freeways, C-Tran tweeted about 7 a.m.
Portland Police told KATU-TV that I-84 would remain closed until mid-morning due to a Tuesday night officer-involved shooting related to the investigation into the death of a Kelso convenience store clerk. The Banfield reopened shortly after 9 a.m.
Erkinson K. Bossy, 23, was arrested shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Kelso Police Department, following a car chase from Highway 500 near Thurston Way in Vancouver to westbound I-84 near the Lloyd Center in Portland.
