I-405 tolls may be dispersing traffic on to local streets
Oct 1, 2015, 10:18 AM | Updated: 12:40 pm
Drivers in the I-405 express toll lanes are seeing speeds of 45 mph or less more often than they should be, according to a recent report by WSDOT. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
For the second day in a row, I-405 commuters were nowhere to be found between Lynnwood and Bellevue.
Where did they go?
Travel times peaked around an hour and five minutes between Lynnwood and Bellevue in the general purpose lanes on Monday. On Tuesday, that drive jumped to nearly an hour and 15 minutes at its worst. Wednesday and Thursday morning, that drive was running about 40 minutes, a good 10 minutes below its average.
Tell us what slows you down each day
The amount of drivers on other freeways don’t necessarily reflect a large amount of people avoiding I-405, according to information from the Washington State Department of Transportation. I-5, for example, had increased travel times, but didn’t see a large increase in vehicles, State Tolling Director Craig Stone explained.
“The volumes on I-5 are about the same,” Stone said. “That’s not showing us that people are saying ‘hey I’m going to avoid I-405,’ but we are working with our local jurisdictions, cities and so forth, to see what’s happening there on their local streets.”
There has been more congestion on surface streets on the traffic maps around the I-405 corridor, especially on Highway 202 through Woodinville to Redmond.
“We are seeing longer queues and more difficulty getting into the city off 522 than we’ve experienced in the recent past,” said Tom Hansen, Woodinville public works director.
Related: I-405 drivers ‘at the front end of a learning curve’ for toll lanes
The Northshore School District is also getting caught up in the new tolling. It has re-routed up to 50 school buses. They used to use the HOV lane on southbound I-405 to get to their routes, but they can no longer get out of the lanes to their proper exits because of the double white lines.
“The biggest impact would be time, so some of our buses, in the meantime, may avoid using I-405 during peak commute times,” Northshore School District Communications Director Leanna Albrecht said. The state is working with the district to fix the issue, if it can.
So where are you going, if you are avoiding I-405? Let us know in the comments below.
