The April 3rd Friday evening commute (and the start of the Easter Holiday weekend) started out on a sour note in East King County.
Around 2PM, a semi truck jackknifed, blocking two of the three eastbound I-90 lanes at milepost 31 just before North Bend. The cab of the truck ended up past the guardrail and over the roadside shoulder.
There was no word on what caused the accident, but one witness who passed the scene said no other vehicles appeared to be involved and it did not look like any injuries were involved. It was raining at the time, though.
By 3PM the eastbound I-90 backup stretched for 4 miles, all the way to the I-90/SR 18 interchange, and created a domino effect, two-mile backup on eastbound SR 18 near I-90.
By 3PM, WSDOT said tow trucks and state patrol was on the scene. The semi was cleared from the roadway by 4PM, but the traffic backup damage was done. Eastbound SR 18 was reported to have had at least a 4-mile backup from where it merges with I-90.
Alternate routes were advised which pushed traffic onto SR 202 and Snoqualmie Parkway.
Another eastbound I-90 accident near the Mt. Baker tunnel was also backing up traffic in the Seattle area around 3PM but was cleared by 3:30PM.
Anyone traveling for Spring Break or the Easter Weekend toward Snoqualmie Pass may want to bring their patience. Traffic was bad just about everywhere it seemed.
