The westbound lanes of the I-90 floating bridge are back open over Lake Washington after high winds and waves forced a nearly 4-hour closure on Sunday afternoon. The lanes reopened just after 6:30 p.m.
Washington Department of Transportation says wind speeds reached 26 mph and wave heights reached at least 2 feet, prompting the initial closure.
Westbound drivers had to exit at Island Crest Way on Mercer Island, causing lengthy backups.
Eastbound I-90 on the floating bridge remained open to traffic during the westbound closure.
The closure was necessary to prevent damage to the bridge, says WSDOT. The agency instituted new a threshold for weather on the floating bridge.
