The Washington State Department of Transportation reported this morning that extra crews were out all over the Puget Sound region preparing roads for the morning commute. As more cars hit the roadway, WSDOT was asking drivers to slow down and prepare for winter driving conditions.
Plow trucks were out are out in force today to keep up with the snow, and crews were out overnight applying anti-icers, de-icers and sand. Similarly, daytime crews came in early in many places to assist the night crews.
In the Seattle metro area, crews were focusing on the I-5, I-405 mainline routes, and then switched to the harder hit secondary routes, like SR 522, SR 525, SR 9 and SR 18.
Metro area mainline routes were looking great for drivers with bare, wet conditions. Outlying routes, especially those in higher elevations like Issaquah and the Tiger Mountain summit, were seeing more accumulation. Crews were quickly responding these trouble areas.
In South Puget Sound, crews cleared snow and ice from I-5 in Tacoma, SR 512 and outlying areas in Pierce County. The Hood Canal area remained a trouble spot, with daytime crews coming in early to help keep traffic moving.
WSDOT encouraged drivers to visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/winter to find a list of winter emergency kit items, more safe driving tips and information on mountain pass travel advisories.