What to know for Fourth of July weekend traffic
Jul 1, 2016, 12:56 PM
State highways across Washington will see typical heavy holiday weekend traffic, especially on I-90 where long delays are expected. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
It’s a holiday weekend and in Western Washington that means traffic — bad traffic.
The Washington State Department of Transportation recently said that, unlike other popular holidays, it wasn’t able to produce travel graphs to advise folks driving around the state.
Related: Where to watch fireworks shows in Seattle and beyond
It did, however, offer up some advice to bear in mind while packing up and heading out for the Fourth of July weekend.
• Friday afternoon and evening will likely experience the heaviest traffic of the holiday weekend — quite heavier than a regular Friday.
• As with Friday, Monday, July 4 will also likely experience heavier traffic on state roads.
• Ferries are always packed on July 4. WSDOT recommends making reservations for San Juan Islands, Sidney, BC or Port Townsend/Coupeville. For other routes, try to get there well in advance of the sailing time — you may be waiting in a long line. If possible, walk on.
• I-90 will be a mess. Road projects stretching from Snoqualmie pass to Vantage will slow things up quite a bit. That’s on top of the heavy traffic the popular route regularly experiences. Likely I-90 chokepoints include: The Summit of Snoqualmie Pass east near Keechelus Lake (mileposts 54-62); Easton area (mileposts 67-70); Ellensburg area (mileposts 106-122).
• The Vantage Bridge will be a part of the I-90 slow down. That bridge will only have one eastbound lane in operation.
• Highway 2 passing through the Gold Bar/Sultan area is expected to have sluggish traffic.
• As with Friday, Monday, July 4 will also likely experience heavier traffic on state roads.
• Ferries are always packed on July 4. WSDOT recommends making reservations for San Juan Islands, Sidney, BC or Port Townsend/Coupeville. For other routes, try to get there well in advance of the sailing time — you may be waiting in a long line. If possible, walk on.
• I-90 will be a mess. Road projects stretching from Snoqualmie pass to Vantage will slow things up quite a bit. That’s on top of the heavy traffic the popular route regularly experiences. Likely I-90 chokepoints include: The Summit of Snoqualmie Pass east near Keechelus Lake (mileposts 54-62); Easton area (mileposts 67-70); Ellensburg area (mileposts 106-122).
• The Vantage Bridge will be a part of the I-90 slow down. That bridge will only have one eastbound lane in operation.
• Highway 2 passing through the Gold Bar/Sultan area is expected to have sluggish traffic.
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