A damaged expansion joint near Seneca Street and a crash near Mercer Street brought both directions of the I-5 commute into Seattle to a crawl Friday morning.
The morning commute into Seattle slowed to a crawl Friday morning from almost every direction.
Collisions on the West Seattle Bridge, and later on southbound Interstate 5 near Mercer Street, caused significant delays.
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Also, state transportation crews blocked one lane of traffic on northbound I-5 near Seneca Street starting at about 8 a.m. to check for damage to the highway after an expansion joint came loose. That backed up traffic as far south as Boeing Field and had a ripple effect on westbound Interstate 90. Northbound Highway 99 slowed as well, as drivers tried to avoid I-5.
After arriving, workers began cutting out the damaged part of the expansion joint, according to a tweet from the department. All lanes were back open at about 10:15 a.m.
The I-5 express lanes were opened to northbound traffic to help alleviate delays, but officials also suggested commuters traveling north into Seattle find alternate routes.