Morning commute traffic spills onto city streets as series of crashes clog Clark County freeways

Traffic was backed up all over Clark County this morning, with both Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 looking like parking lots during the morning commute. And drivers didn’t get any relief as the day wore on.

I-5 slowed to a crawl by 7 a.m. with traffic backed up to Minnehaha Street and spilling onto state Highway 500 and state Highway 14 westbound. I-205 south saw slowing as far north as Padden Parkway with Highway 14 also backed up east- and westbound approaching the freeway.

A crash on I-205 south just before the bridge contributed to the slowing, and the Washington State Department of Transportation reported a crash on Highway 14 east at Exit 6 forced the closure of the left shoulder on the onramp.

Around 8 a.m., a crash involving two construction vehicles on I-205 south near the ramp from Highway 14 blocked the right lane, according to WSDOT. Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that no one was injured in the crash.

As the morning wore on, backups got longer and with I-205 traffic slowing almost all the way north to the split. Slowed traffic spilled onto surface streets, including Mill Plain Boulevard in east Vancouver and all over downtown Vancouver.

A driver going to fast for conditions crashed into another car, which crashed into a third car about 9 a.m. on Highway 14 westbound near 164th Avenue, according to the Washington State Patrol. The driver of the first vehicle, Vivianne S. Kennedy, 43 of Washougal, and the driver of the second vehicle, Tina L. Clancy, 59, of Camas, were both taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. The driver of the third vehicle, Joshua A. Day, 33, of Vancouver was not injured.

By the time traffic cleared in Clark County, afternoon commute backups were starting in Portland.

For the latest, visit www.columbian.com/traffic.