Observations from day 2 without the I-90 express lanes
Jun 6, 2017, 9:21 AM | Updated: 9:30 am
The first two days without the I-90 express lanes across Lake Washington are, at least anecdotally, causing delays. (AP)
(AP)
For the second morning commute since the state closed the I-90 express lanes over Lake Washington, traffic backups began approximately 45 minutes earlier than normal, according to KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan.
Drivers commuting from the Eastside to Seattle via westbound I-90 Tuesday morning saw delays of up to 10 minutes or more, according to Sullivan. The worst delays were approximately 12 minutes.
Travel speeds during the morning commute dropped down to about 25 mph.
The state closed the express lanes permanently to make way for Sound Transit’s Eastside light rail expansion. The transit agency will eventually build light rail across the lake.
RELATED: Drivers dealing with new merge on I-90 over Lake Washington
New HOV lanes have replaced the express lanes. Drivers coming from the island no longer have single-occupancy access between Mercer Island and Seattle.
According to the traffic map, the commute from Bellevue to Seattle hovered around 30 minutes — several minutes above average.
Traffic began backing up before Eastgate, according to Sullivan. He says there was at least eight miles of slowing in the westbound lanes at the peak of the morning commute.
Additionally, northbound I-405 began backing up at the I-90 interchange because of the delays, according to Sullivan.
The exception seems to be those able to drive in the HOV lanes, which are seeing at or below the average commute time.
Commuters weighed in on Twitter:
West Mercer onramp backed up more than I’ve ever seen it. pic.twitter.com/ABhsQPvl7V
— Douglas Steding (@DougSteding) June 6, 2017
Multiple people texted Sullivan:
• “9 mile commute from east mercer island to 7th and Westlake has nearly doubled last 2 days with loss of express lane access. Now up to 40 mins from 25.”
• “We use the HOV lanes on i90. Not noticing a major delay getting in the morning.”
• “My delay is about 15-17 minutes.”
• “Lots of hov cheaters on I 90.”
• “Hi Sully – I drive I-90 from North Bend to Downtown [Seattle] … 50 minutes on a decent day … yesterday was nearly 2 hrs (granted there was a wreck @ SR 900). Today no accidents 1hr-15min. The Mercer Island drive is awful. And I have noticed the back up from 90 to NB I-5 has diminished so coming out of the Mt. Baker tunnel is wide open.”
Weigh in on the conversation. Tweet @KIROTraffic and use the #noexpresslanes.
