Traffic backed up on Interstate 5 to state Highway 500 before 8 a.m. Monday morning — a rare occurrence in the last few months — after lanes on the bridge were blocked by emergency vehicles investigating what was reported as a marine accident around 7:20 a.m.
The emergency vehicles cleared after a few minutes but southbound traffic was stop and go as it approached the bridge. State Highway 14 westbound also slowed as it approached the I-5 merge. No further details were available on the marine accident.
Traffic on both the Interstate 5 and 205 bridges has plummeted since the start of the pandemic and Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home orders. Backups have been rare as many people have been laid off or are working from home.
Traffic counts in Clark County near the state border dropped by 30-40 percent on weekdays and 40-50 percent on weekends, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The backups had largely cleared by 8:20 a.m.
