Morning commute snarled after crews closed Narrows Bridge for black ice
Black ice forced officials to close the eastbound span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge early Monday morning, leading to long backups after multiple collisions due to the icy conditions.
All lanes had reopened as of about 6:30 a.m. Monday, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Kameron Watts posted on X. About an hour earlier, he wrote that the Narrows Bridge had been closed on the side going toward Tacoma “due to excessive black ice that’s causing multiple collisions.”
Watts later told The News Tribune he understands there were five spin-outs on the bridge just prior to the closure.
A Washington State Patrol press memo Monday afternoon noted four collisions due to the ice, including one where a vehicle lost traction in the middle of the bridge and hit the left barrier of the road. The car’s driver, a 41-year-old man from Gig Harbor, was not hurt, according to the memo.
At 6:09 a.m., the Washington State Department of Transportation told drivers to plan for “significant delays from Gig Harbor to Tacoma” while crews treated the road for icy conditions. An update just after 6:20 a.m. said crews finished the work but warned drivers of a long backup as traffic cleared.
The State Patrol memo said that the workers applied a “deicing agent” to the road. The road was blocked for an hour and 26 minutes, the memo said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional information from the Washington State Patrol spokesperson and a press memo.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 9:22 AM.
