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Viadoom Week 2: Live updates from the afternoon commute

Jan 23, 2019, 5:45 AM | Updated: Jan 24, 2019, 3:12 pm

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BY MYNORTHWEST STAFF


MyNorthwest.com

The first week of the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure was easy on drivers. But the second week is when Viadoom showed up in Seattle. That was apparent Wednesday morning when KIRO Radio Traffic Reporter Chris Sullivan called conditions a “soup of nastiness.”

After the MLK holiday, Tuesday brought Viadoom’s worst commute yet. The morning showed signs of a slowing, leading to the evening when more cars flooded the roads in rainy weather.

RELATED: Water taxi, bike ridership spikes amid viadoom
RELATED: Viadoom’s worst traffic yet hits as Week 2 commutes begin

Multiple collisions throughout the region only made Viadoom worse Wednesday morning. A semi-truck crashed on I-5 in Tacoma around 3:30 a.m., causing a major disruption. The truck crashed into a jersey barrier, causing other vehicles to crash. The scene blocked all lanes of I-5 for hours into the commute. This is the sixth semi-truck crash into a jersey barrier in that same area of I-5 since October 2018, KIRO 7 reports.

With rainy weather subsiding at least momentarily, let’s find out how the afternoon commute is going

Below are updates on the Wednesday commute, including reports from KIRO Radio Traffic Reporters Chris Sullivan and Tracy Taylor.

—

6:00 p.m.

—

5:30 p.m.

After a brief outage, WSDOT’s travel times tracking is back online. Current times out of Bellevue:

—

5:00 p.m.

Travel times have firmly returned to the “surprisingly manageable” category this evening.

—

4:30 p.m.

—

4:00 p.m.

Looks like good weather has kept the commute this evening reasonable.

—

3:40 p.m.

—

3:00 p.m.

—

10:15 a.m.

9:54 a.m.

Northbound drivers, and commuters over the West Seattle Bridge, seem to be affected the most by the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, day after day. Slowing starts at Boeing Field.

It’s more than an hour from Federal Way to Seattle, with 50 minutes from Southcenter alone.

The West Seattle Bridge is still crawling, but the surface streets around the bridge are freeing up. Routes through SoDo, such as Airport Way, are an option to avoid I-5.

The drive from Everett to Seattle is an hour and 10 minutes.

9:40 a.m.

9:20 a.m.

Travel times are finally starting to come down.

The West Seattle Bridge is still slow, with backups all the way to Harbor Avenue.

It’s an hour and 10 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue.

Federal Way to Seattle is about an hour, with 45 minutes between Southcenter and downtown.

9 a.m.

While things are slow across most routes into Seattle, Sullivan notes that southbound SR99 into Seattle is a viable option. Traffic does slow down once across the Aurora Bridge, but before that, things are relatively smooth.

8:45 a.m.

It’s a “soup of nastiness,” according to Sullivan.

It’s a 10 minute delay just getting into Everett because of a crash on I-5 near the Everett Mall. Then it’s an hour and 20 minutes between Everett and Seattle or Bellevue. The slowest traffic starts from Lynnwood into downtown Seattle.

Both the floating bridges over Lake Washington are showing significant westbound slowing heading toward Seattle. But compared to the rest of the traffic map, Sullivan notes, it’s not as bad.

8:30 a.m.

8:21 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

8:07 a.m.

8 a.m.

7:50 a.m.

“It’s a day to forget,” Sullivan said.

It will take an hour and 5 minutes to drive the 11 miles between Renton and Bellevue this morning. That’s mostly due to a collision on northbound I-405, blocking the HOV lane near the SR167 interchange in Renton.

It’s still an hour and 10 minutes between Everett and Seattle or Everett to Bellevue.

It’s an hour between Federal Way to Seattle, with 50 of those minutes from Southcenter into downtown.

The West Seattle Bridge is a solid line of cars backed up to Delridge Way. There is a stalled car on the bridge making matters worse.

7:30 a.m.

While Tacoma is recovering, the crash in Everett continues to snarl the morning commute. The scene is down to blocking one right lane.

It’s an hour and 20 minutes from Everett to Seattle, or Everett to Bellevue.

It’s 50 minutes between Federal Way to Seattle, but 40 of those minutes are from Southcenter into downtown.

The West Seattle Bridge has traffic backed up to around Delridge Way.

“The good news is that the surface streets are not as backed up as they were yesterday,” Sullivan said.

The floating bridges over Lake Washington into Seattle are showing some slowing. It’s 25 minutes from Bellevue to Seattle on I-90, and about 15 minutes on SR520.

7:10 a.m.

Crews have cleared the scene of a semi-truck crash on I-5 in Tacoma. All northbound and southbound lanes have reopened. The backup from this incident stretched for 3.5 miles and could take time to recover.

7 a.m.

Drivers using SR512 through Puyallup to avoid the blockage on I-5 in Tacoma are causing a 10 mile backup there — worse than the 3.5 mile backup on I-5. Sullivan recommends sticking with I-5 as it’s the lesser of the two snarls.

It’s an hour and 20 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue, largely due to a crash on the freeway near the Everett Mall.

The drive from Federal Way to Seattle is an hour and five minutes, and 40 of those minutes are from Southcenter.

6:45 a.m.

6:40 a.m.

“We are just getting pummeled,” Sullivan says.

  • All lanes of I-5 in Tacoma are still closed causing 5 mile backups in both directions, following a semi-truck crash.
  • A collision on Southbound I-5 near the Everett Mall is blocking two right lanes.
  • A crash is blocking the HOV lane on northbound I-5 near I-90. Traffic is already crawling from Albro Place on into downtown.

It’s an hour and 10 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue on I-5.

The drive from Federal Way to Seattle on I-5 is an hour, with 35 minutes of that trip from Southcenter.

The drive from Renton to Bellevue will take more than 30 minutes.

6:33 a.m.

6:20 a.m.

The West Seattle Bridge is backed up to SR99. Nearby, a BNSF train is stopped on the tracks blocking surface streets at Spokane Street and East Marginal Way in SoDo.

6:10 a.m.

Everett to Seattle or Bellevue is up to 50 minutes now.

The Federal Way to Seattle drive is 50 minutes on I-5, with 25 of those minutes from Southcenter into downtown.

5:45 a.m.

Viadoom traffic has begun, about an hour earlier than usual which continues last week’s trend. Significant slowing is happening on northbound I-5 into Seattle, starting at Albro Place near Boeing Field.

The West Seattle Bridge is smooth so far, but a train is blocking the street at Spokane Street in SoDo, preventing traffic from moving.

It’s 40 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue.

The crash on SR512 has been cleared, but the semi-truck crash in Tacoma remains blocking all lanes of I-5. The truck took out the jersey barrier. As with similar incidents in the past, crews can take hours to replace the barrier and clear the scene. A tow truck has arrived to remove the truck. There is diesel fuel on the roadway that crews will have to clean up.

5:30 a.m.

Viadoom hasn’t had a chance to make an impact this morning. Meanwhile, all lanes of I-5 are blocked in Tacoma after a collision involving a semi-truck, just south of the Tacoma Dome.

WSP

Northbound traffic has a 3.5 mile backup. Southbound is inching through by using collector-distributor lanes. Some drivers are trying to take SR512 or SR167 through Sumner. But a semi-collision on SR512 is slowing traffic there, causing a 5 mile backup in the eastbound lanes.

“This is going to be a significant slowdown over the morning, so plan accordingly,” Sullivan said.

—

10:15 a.m.

9:54 a.m.

Northbound drivers, and commuters over the West Seattle Bridge, seem to be affected the most by the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, day after day. Slowing starts at Boeing Field.

It’s more than an hour from Federal Way to Seattle, with 50 minutes from Southcenter alone.

The West Seattle Bridge is still crawling, but the surface streets around the bridge are freeing up. Routes through SoDo, such as Airport Way, are an option to avoid I-5.

The drive from Everett to Seattle is an hour and 10 minutes.

9:40 a.m.

9:20 a.m.

Travel times are finally starting to come down.

The West Seattle Bridge is still slow, with backups all the way to Harbor Avenue.

It’s an hour and 10 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue.

Federal Way to Seattle is about an hour, with 45 minutes between Southcenter and downtown.

9 a.m.

While things are slow across most routes into Seattle, Sullivan notes that southbound SR99 into Seattle is a viable option. Traffic does slow down once across the Aurora Bridge, but before that, things are relatively smooth.

8:45 a.m.

It’s a “soup of nastiness,” according to Sullivan.

It’s a 10 minute delay just getting into Everett because of a crash on I-5 near the Everett Mall. Then it’s an hour and 20 minutes between Everett and Seattle or Bellevue. The slowest traffic starts from Lynnwood into downtown Seattle.

Both the floating bridges over Lake Washington are showing significant westbound slowing heading toward Seattle. But compared to the rest of the traffic map, Sullivan notes, it’s not as bad.

8:30 a.m.

8:21 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

8:07 a.m.

8 a.m.

7:50 a.m.

“It’s a day to forget,” Sullivan said.

It will take an hour and 5 minutes to drive the 11 miles between Renton and Bellevue this morning. That’s mostly due to a collision on northbound I-405, blocking the HOV lane near the SR167 interchange in Renton.

It’s still an hour and 10 minutes between Everett and Seattle or Everett to Bellevue.

It’s an hour between Federal Way to Seattle, with 50 of those minutes from Southcenter into downtown.

The West Seattle Bridge is a solid line of cars backed up to Delridge Way. There is a stalled car on the bridge making matters worse.

7:30 a.m.

While Tacoma is recovering, the crash in Everett continues to snarl the morning commute. The scene is down to blocking one right lane.

It’s an hour and 20 minutes from Everett to Seattle, or Everett to Bellevue.

It’s 50 minutes between Federal Way to Seattle, but 40 of those minutes are from Southcenter into downtown.

The West Seattle Bridge has traffic backed up to around Delridge Way.

“The good news is that the surface streets are not as backed up as they were yesterday,” Sullivan said.

The floating bridges over Lake Washington into Seattle are showing some slowing. It’s 25 minutes from Bellevue to Seattle on I-90, and about 15 minutes on SR520.

7:10 a.m.

Crews have cleared the scene of a semi-truck crash on I-5 in Tacoma. All northbound and southbound lanes have reopened. The backup from this incident stretched for 3.5 miles and could take time to recover.

7 a.m.

Drivers using SR512 through Puyallup to avoid the blockage on I-5 in Tacoma are causing a 10 mile backup there — worse than the 3.5 mile backup on I-5. Sullivan recommends sticking with I-5 as it’s the lesser of the two snarls.

It’s an hour and 20 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue, largely due to a crash on the freeway near the Everett Mall.

The drive from Federal Way to Seattle is an hour and five minutes, and 40 of those minutes are from Southcenter.

6:45 a.m.

6:40 a.m.

“We are just getting pummeled,” Sullivan says.

  • All lanes of I-5 in Tacoma are still closed causing 5 mile backups in both directions, following a semi-truck crash.
  • A collision on Southbound I-5 near the Everett Mall is blocking two right lanes.
  • A crash is blocking the HOV lane on northbound I-5 near I-90. Traffic is already crawling from Albro Place on into downtown.

It’s an hour and 10 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue on I-5.

The drive from Federal Way to Seattle on I-5 is an hour, with 35 minutes of that trip from Southcenter.

The drive from Renton to Bellevue will take more than 30 minutes.

6:33 a.m.

6:20 a.m.

The West Seattle Bridge is backed up to SR99. Nearby, a BNSF train is stopped on the tracks blocking surface streets at Spokane Street and East Marginal Way in SoDo.

6:10 a.m.

Everett to Seattle or Bellevue is up to 50 minutes now.

The Federal Way to Seattle drive is 50 minutes on I-5, with 25 of those minutes from Southcenter into downtown.

5:45 a.m.

Viadoom traffic has begun, about an hour earlier than usual which continues last week’s trend. Significant slowing is happening on northbound I-5 into Seattle, starting at Albro Place near Boeing Field.

The West Seattle Bridge is smooth so far, but a train is blocking the street at Spokane Street in SoDo, preventing traffic from moving.

It’s 40 minutes from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue.

The crash on SR512 has been cleared, but the semi-truck crash in Tacoma remains blocking all lanes of I-5. The truck took out the jersey barrier. As with similar incidents in the past, crews can take hours to replace the barrier and clear the scene. A tow truck has arrived to remove the truck. There is diesel fuel on the roadway that crews will have to clean up.

5:30 a.m.

Viadoom hasn’t had a chance to make an impact this morning. Meanwhile, all lanes of I-5 are blocked in Tacoma after a collision involving a semi-truck, just south of the Tacoma Dome.

WSP

Northbound traffic has a 3.5 mile backup. Southbound is inching through by using collector-distributor lanes. Some drivers are trying to take SR512 or SR167 through Sumner. But a semi-collision on SR512 is slowing traffic there, causing a 5 mile backup in the eastbound lanes.

“This is going to be a significant slowdown over the morning, so plan accordingly,” Sullivan said.

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