Oversize truck gets stuck in Battery Street Tunnel, causes huge backups for hours

SEATTLE – A truck carrying an oversize load entered the Battery Street Tunnel illegally Friday afternoon, getting stuck and causing massive backups on Highway 99, SDOT said.

The truck got stuck in the tunnel sometime around 2 p.m., and a four-mile backup formed almost immediately. Just before 6:30 p.m., the truck was finally cleared and all lanes of traffic reopened.

Officials with SDOT said the truck was carrying and oversized load, and that the operators should have contacted the city to get a permit.

The permit wasn’t validated, however. If it had been, the city would’ve provided an escort and the truck would’ve avoided the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the tunnel.

The truck was over the height limit, SDOT said.