Commuting is usually just a mindless routine until the brake lights start glowing red for miles. This morning, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, thousands of drivers found themselves trapped in exactly that nightmare. If you were heading northbound on Highway 99 toward the George Massey Tunnel, you already know the vibe was basically a parking lot.
It wasn't just one mishap. It was a messy combination of bad timing and bad luck.
The Chaos Near the Massey Tunnel
Basically, a multi-vehicle crash slammed into the morning rush hour right when everyone was trying to get from Delta to Richmond. To make matters worse, a vehicle stalled out almost simultaneously. It's like the universe decided the Massey Tunnel didn't have enough congestion on a normal day.
DriveBC and local crews were on the scene early. By roughly 6:40 a.m., the wreckage was cleared and the stalled car was towed, but the damage to the morning schedule was already done. You’ve seen how this works. Once that bottleneck forms, it doesn't just "go away" because the tow truck leaves.
Why the delays stuck around
Traffic reports from 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver were hitting the airwaves every ten minutes with the same grim news: the backup was stretching all the way to 80 Street. If you tried to bail and take Highway 91, you probably regretted it. Several issues near the East-West connector turned the Alex Fraser Bridge into a secondary headache.
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Honestly, it’s a classic example of how fragile our infrastructure is. One fender bender in the tunnel turns into a two-hour delay for someone twenty miles back.
Tragedy on Highway 99W in Northern California
While the Vancouver corridor was dealing with metal and minutes, Northern California is dealing with a much deeper tragedy. We have to talk about what happened on Highway 99W south of Gyle Road in Tehama County.
This wasn't a minor pileup.
On Wednesday, a head-on collision between a Toyota Tacoma and a Tehama County transit bus (TRAX) claimed six lives. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported that the pickup truck crossed the yellow centerline for unknown reasons.
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The details are harrowing:
- The bus was fully engulfed in flames upon impact.
- The bus driver and four passengers died at the scene.
- The driver of the Tacoma, who was alone in the truck, also passed away.
- One survivor was airlifted to Enloe Medical Center with major injuries.
TRAX suspended all transit services through today, Thursday, Jan. 15, as the community processes this. It’s a heavy reminder that Highway 99—whether it's the 99W in rural California or the main artery in BC—is a high-stakes environment. Investigators are still looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role, but right now, there are just a lot of grieving families and a lot of questions.
Checking the Rest of the Route
If you’re driving the Central Valley stretch of Highway 99 in California today, it’s a different story. Caltrans is reporting mostly clear conditions for the main San Joaquin and Sacramento corridors, though construction on US-50 near the 99 interchange in Sacramento is causing some lane closures.
Fog is the big "if" right now. There’s a dense fog advisory between the Madera/Merced line and the Stanislaus County line. If you’ve ever driven 99 through the valley in January, you know that Tule fog is no joke. It’s thick, it’s gray, and it makes the car in front of you disappear in seconds.
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What You Need to Do Now
Don't just rely on your GPS. Those things are great, but they sometimes lag behind real-time police reports.
If you are in BC, keep an eye on DriveBC. If you're in Washington, the northbound off-ramp from SR 99 to Republican Street in Seattle is closed for maintenance until tomorrow morning. WSDOT has been pretty vocal about these nightly closures, but they still catch people off guard.
Actionable steps for the road:
- Check the Caltrans "QuickMap" app if you're in California; it shows the real-time location of snowplows and CHP incidents.
- Lower your speed immediately when you see the "Fog" signs in the Central Valley, even if the road looks clear ahead.
- In the Sea-to-Sky corridor (BC 99), keep your winter tires on. Even if it’s just raining in Vancouver, it’s likely snowing or icing up by the time you hit Squamish.
The reality is that Highway 99 is one of the most diverse and dangerous stretches of pavement on the West Coast. From the narrow Massey Tunnel to the foggy flats of Modesto, it demands your full attention. Stay off the phone, watch the person in front of you, and give yourself an extra twenty minutes. You’ll probably need them.