CHEHALIS, Wash. -- Road crews reopened both lanes in each direction of Interstate 5 to truck and passenger traffic on Friday, four days after floodwaters closed the critical transportation link.

I-5 was opened to all travelers before noon after crews worked around the clock to make safety repairs, including replacing hundreds of two-ton concrete Jersey barriers, transportation officials said.

The interstate had been partially opened, to truck traffic only, on Thursday night.

VIDEO: All Drivers Allowed On I-5

A 20-mile stretch of I-5 had been closed completely since Monday night, when the flooded Chehalis River inundated the road, with the water 10 feet deep in places.

DOT Cams Show I-5 Damage
How To Report Flood Damage

Some 54,000 vehicles a day normally pass through the section of I-5, which is the crucial road link between Portland and Seattle. Officials said the state economy lost about $4 million each day the freeway was out of commission.

Six deaths in the state have been blamed on this week's severe weather and subsequent power outages, said Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, the state's emergency management director. The figure includes two people who died in a Cascade Range avalanche.

At least one person also was missing, but police in rural Winlock were treating their search for the man as a recovery mission, not a rescue.

Utility crews worked to restore electricity to thousands of people in the region, which was pounded by heavy rain and high wind Sunday and Monday.

Fewer than 30,000 remained in the dark, mostly in Grays Harbor County, and "that number keeps dropping every day," Lowenberg said. He predicted many of those customers could have power restored by day's end.

Government and volunteer workers continued delivering food, water, medicines and other relief supplies to storm-damaged areas. Isolated places along the coast, including tribal communities, were being targeted, Lowenberg said.

As of Friday morning, Gov. Chris Gregoire was still awaiting a response to her request of a presidential disaster declaration, which would speed federal assistance to Washingtonians.

"Her commitment is to take care of people first," Lowenberg said. "Of course, we will take care of public infrastructure damage ... when we have made sure that people are taken care of."

In Lewis County, sheriff's deputies said three people trying to survey the flood damage had to be rescued when they became stranded near the town of Pe Ell.

Meanwhile, forecasters said a weak weather system will bring a chance of rain or snow on Sunday. Forecasters said Monday should be dry, but there's another chance of rain on Tuesday.