If you need to drive on Interstate 90 in Easton, Washington, and choose to use Apple Maps — watch out. Apparently the app is mistakenly sending people onto a dirt road, and residents are now making signs to help wayward drivers.
KIRO reports Apple Maps has seemingly misinterpreted the ongoing construction on Route 90’s Snoqualmie Pass as a road closure, so it is rerouting highway commuters onto the unpaved and unmanaged mountain road.
Said Snoqualmie Fire & Rescue Chief Jay Wiseman, “This U.S. Forest Services road is a dirt road that is not maintained and does not receive winter maintenance. I am concerned that this alternative routing issue is putting the public at risk of being stranded on unmaintained USFS roads in winter months near Snoqualmie Pass.”
Wiseman says people can drive through the highway construction and doesn’t understand why Maps hasn’t been updated — especially since construction started in September.
Until the correction is made, there are flashing signs on the road that read “DON’T FOLLOW GPS. STAY ON I-90 EAST.” Residents have also made their own warning signs, which read, “YOUR GPS IS WRONG…TURN AROUND HERE!”
A resident named Murray says the error is “causing chaos” because drivers are blowing down the dirt road at speeds up to 60 mph. He adds tractor-trailers are also getting stuck on the mountain road and then need rescuing.
Wiseman has reached out to Apple to have them update the Maps app to stop drivers from bailing off the highway, but he says he hasn’t heard back.