WOODBURN, Ore. — Interstate 5 southbound has reopened through the Woodburn area after a crash early Thursday that closed all of the southbound lanes for much of the morning.
The freeway was back open as of 11:45 a.m., according to the Oregon Department of Transportation, but southbound traffic backed up all the way past Wilsonville during the closure and it will take some time for it to clear, so the agency recommended that drivers continue to postpone travel if possible until later in the afternoon if they're planning to head south beyond the junction with Interstate 205.
The crash happened at around 5:30 a.m. about 5 miles north of Woodburn, according to ODOT's TripCheck map. The incident closed all southbound lanes as well as at least one northbound lane. The partial northbound closure ended earlier in the morning, but ODOT warned that northbound traffic would also encounter slowdowns through the early afternoon.
Some southbound drivers began getting off at Wilsonville and using OR 551 to reach OR 99E as a detour, leading to heavy traffic on that route as well. That heavy traffic persisted through the morning, ODOT said, so drivers should continue to expect delays on those highways in the early afternoon.
ODOT did not release any details about the nature of the crash, but said emergency responders were working at the scene, which includes the southbound lanes and the freeway median. After the freeway reopened, the agency cautioned drivers to watch out for highway crews who may still be working around the crash site.
