Truck drivers wait out pass closure with resignation

Near the closure of I-90 heading into Snoqualmie Pass, semi trucks were bunched up Thursday like kids waiting for the school bell to ring.

Hundreds of trucks lined the highway and exit ramps, with drivers huddled inside watching television and talking on cellphones.

Unable to find parking near truck stops and restaurants, some truckers walked miles to get a meal and to commiserate. They complained quietly, with a strong dose of resignation.

"You'd get your blood pressure up for nothing," explained David Scott over a basket of fries at Ken's Restaurant in North Bend. He's been waiting since Wednesday afternoon for the pass to open.

Across the diner counter, Matt Schreiner took a call and learned that another driver got a load that had been waiting for Schreiner in Yakima. Now he will get a new assignment and miss his son's third birthday back home in Missouri.

"Ain't nothing you can do unless you get a shovel and help them dig the road out," he said.

Some drivers spent hours in their trucks, hoping the pass would open for even a short window. Most are not paid for the time they wait.

Eduardo Miranda, who's hauling baked goods to Illinois, waited in his truck until 11:30 a.m., when he learned that a mudslide would keep the highway closed all day. He climbed out of his cab and walked two miles to North Bend for food and a change of scenery.

"I'll stay here late tonight, then go back to the truck," he said.

Truckers know that bad mountain weather and road closures are a hazard of hauling in this part of the country.

That's one reason David Abas, of Ohio, who started driving about a month ago after being laid off by General Motors, asked not to be sent this direction.

"I wasn't supposed to go west," Abas smiled, peeking from under a baseball cap. "So the one place I go is the one place on the West Coast you can't get out of."

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com