CHOKEPOINTS

Highway 2 pain not going away anytime soon

Aug 31, 2017, 5:41 AM | Updated: 10:19 am

Without fail, traffic backs up on Highway 2 every Friday and Sunday afternoons. (MyNorthwest photo) One of the few lights on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan) Roundabout on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan) Roundabout on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan) One of the few lights on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan) Roundabout on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan) One of the few lights on Highway 2. (Chris Sullivan)

We know a lot of you are heading out for Labor Day Weekend, and that means you are going to be stuck in horrible traffic coming home, especially on westbound Highway 2. That highway is a weekly nightmare for people returning from the Cascades and beyond.

Get the latest traffic updates

KIRO listener Bryan sent me a note a few weeks ago detailing his ridiculous drive home on a Sunday afternoon after rock-climbing near Index. He wrote it took him more than 2 hours to go the roughly 12 miles to the west end of Sultan. That weekend chokepoint is one of the worst in the region, rivaling the I-5 NB slog out of Olympia every Sunday. It’s a nightmare.

So what’s behind it?

The Washington Department of Transportation said it’s a combination of regional growth, a small mountain highway, and other construction projects in the state.

“There’s a lot of recreational travel going on, combined with the huge traffic boom we’ve had in the Seattle-area,” said WSDOT’s Travis Phelps. “I think a lot of people want to get out of town.”

But he believes it’s the diversion from all the construction on I-90 east of Snoqualmie Pass that has transformed Highway 2 into the crawl it has become.

“It’s a really easy shortcut for a lot of folks on I-90 to cut-over on Highway 97 and take U.S. 2 over,” Phelps said. “The problem is U.S. 2 is a two-lane highway that doesn’t have a lot of capacity, especially out near Index and Skykomish, and it really tends to bottle up fast.”

Most drivers, like KIRO listener Bryan, blame the traffic signals in Sultan as the primary cause for the bumper to bumper traffic. Phelps said it’s not that simple.

“You take those out and there’s another symptom,” he said. “You have folks held hostage in those parts of town. Signals are hitting their capacity, but really, the entire road is at capacity. You’re still going to feel that congestion even if there was a different type of timing in place and probably even if we pulled them out and installed something different.”

If you can handle the more than 2 hour wait times for a few more years, the state is going to put $17 million into improving that stretch of Highway 2, and drivers will be able to give engineers ideas on changes.

“We’re going to be engaging communities up and down the corridor to find the best ways to use this type of money,” Phelps said. “We want to make sure it’s going to serve the commuters that travel through there on a daily basis, as well as taking into account that Stevens Pass traffic. But it’s not going to be an easy fix.”

That outreach will begin in 2019, and construction on whatever the state decides to do won’t begin until 2022.

I have also been asked why the state can’t just widen the highway. The answer from the state is all about money. It would be incredibly expensive to do it because of the terrain and environmental concerns along the corridor.

 

Chokepoints

Photo: Cars in traffic...

Nate Connors

Plan ahead as Revive I-5 could make it tough getting to Mariners games

This weekend, Revive I-5 between Seattle and Tukwila continues and crews prepare for long-term road closures in Shoreline.

4 hours ago

I-5 overpass 145th seattle...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: I-5 overpass at 145th in Seattle to close

The North 145th Street overpass of I-5, right there at the new light rail station, is about to close for seven months.

13 hours ago

Photo: WSDOT crews pump concrete at new Veterans Drive tunnel....

Nate Connors

Late night I-5 closures coming up this week as WSDOT works on new tunnel

Contractors WSDOT are prepping for work on the new Veterans Drive Tunnel beneath I-5, adjacent to State Route 516.

1 day ago

Image: A Pierce Transit Stream Bus can be seen in Pierce County....

Micki Gamez

South Sound travelers may opt for transit after major service change

It's been seven years since Pierce Transit announced a major service change. The change means more access to Tacoma and the region.

2 days ago

headphones windshield obstructions...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Driving with headphones, windshield obstructions in Washington

It's another episode of "rules of the road," I'm tackling two driving questions: Using headphones or windshield obstructions while driving.

2 days ago

four-way stops...

Chris Sullivan

Sullivan: Why do so many people get freaked out at four-way stops?

There is no mystery to how four-way stops work, so why do so many people mess up this simple maneuver?

8 days ago

Highway 2 pain not going away anytime soon