Commissioner raises safety concerns after second major crash on Highway 532; calls for interagency coordination

At the Feb. 10 meeting of the Island County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner St. Clair said the county experienced a second major accident on Highway 532 in a month and urged officials to improve coordination among state and local responders.

"We had our second major accident on 5 32 in a month last week," St. Clair said, adding that the incidents required medical transport and caused hours of traffic backup. She told colleagues there is "no coordination happening at these major accidents between how who's, you know, who responds, who closes the road," and recommended discussions with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the sheriff's office and public works. St. Clair said fire and rescue reported difficulties transporting a patient across a bridge during a recent incident.

Commissioner Johnson responded that the issue should start with emergency management, noting evacuation and off‑island coordination would be central to any plan. St. Clair said she expected to raise the issue at a future IRTPO or similar forum to pursue cross‑jurisdictional solutions.

The board did not take formal action on the matter during the public session; the discussion concluded as commissioners moved to administrative items and employee recognitions.

The comments underscore local officials' concern about traffic‑incident management on a corridor that county leaders say has seen repeated major accidents and disrupted travel.