Trucking appears to have just gotten its nerves rattled while the Seattle area suffered widespread damage Wednesday morning’s earthquake.

Just before 11 a.m. local time, an earthquake measuring 6.8 in magnitude lasting about 45 seconds hit 11 miles northeast of Olympia, Wash., and about 110 miles north of Portland. It was felt as far away as Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake City.
CNN reported the damage as “structural and widespread,” while MSNBC described it as “massive.” While the quake was not catastrophic, it was the strongest one in the area in 50 years. At least 76 people were injured with one death reported. Washington Gov. Gary Locke declared a state of emergency, telling Reuters “A lot of overpasses and roads…have sunk.”
Claudia Cornish, spokesperson for the Washington Department of Transportation, told Truckinginfo.com that highways and interstates in the area “fared pretty well.” She reported state highways 202 near Falls City and 169 between Bellevue and Puget Sound were closed due to landslides and it is uncertain when they will be reopened. Also highway 101 from Shelton to Olympia lost a lane and several bridges were closed temporarily for inspections. Cornish said “all major interstates are open, but there have been a few reported problems with cracks and problems with expansion joints.”
Kenworth spokesman Jeff Parietti said things were back to normal at the nearby Bellevue headquarters of parent Paccar and Kenworth’s Kirkland home, where no damage was reported at either place. “We had very minor damage at both our Seattle and Renton truck plants, where gas, water and power were shut off as a precaution, following a gas leak at the Seattle facility,” he said. “Workers were also sent home, and both buildings will be examined for hidden structural damage.”
Freightliner spokeswoman Debi Nicholson said the company’s operations in Portland were unaffected by the quake.
The earthquake also caused headaches for those in the air freight and ocean cargo business. Seattle’s Sea-Tac International airport was closed down due to a loss of power, forcing all arrivals and departures to be cancelled. By the early afternoon, the facility was reopened on a very limited basis. Container yard, gate and intermodal operations were briefly suspended at the Port of Seattle and nearby Port of Tacoma so engineers could check for damage. After inspecting all Port buildings and terminal areas, Port of Tacoma engineering and maintenance staff found no major structural damage at any facilities.
Truckstop operators also reported minor problems associated with the earthquake, ranging from just a few items being knocked off the store shelve and scared patrons to having to deal with power outages. Shelia Anderson of Restover Truck Stop in Olympia off Interstate 5 said, “We had very little damage but we’re out of diesel. A shipment that was supposed to come in this morning has been delayed and now we don’t know when it’s supposed to come in. We’re one of the few places in the area with power but we can’t run credit cards, Comcheks, etc. It’s just cash and checks.” Similar frustrations were reported by truckstop employees at Flying J locations along I-5 at Federal Way and Tacoma. There were some concerns among truckstop operators that they could run out of fuel temporarily if shipments of diesel are delayed.
Last night scientists were predicting a very small chance of aftershocks because the epicenter was deep below the earth’s surface. However, at 1:10 a.m. local time, a brief one rattled the area, centered about 15 miles southwest of Tacoma, along the same fault line as Wednesday's major quake.
You can get information on highway conditions from the Washington Department of Transportation web site at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traveler/ or call the Highway Information phone number at 1-800-695-7623 or 206-368-4499.