90-minute morning commutes return as Revive I-5 swings back into action

Wednesday was the second morning commute since Revive I-5 returned after a month off for the World Cup.

As expected, the drives out of Snohomish County were awful, some of the worst travel times we’ve seen since the project started again in January. Drivers flirted with 90-minute trips from Everett to Seattle and Bellevue from 7 a.m. through 9 a.m.

The reason: The I-5 express lanes did not open southbound in Northgate. It will stay this way until the project in the northbound lanes across the Ship Canal Bridge finishes up late this year.

The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is now working on the two left lanes on the Ship Canal Bridge after completing work on the right lanes in June.

Southbound I-5 and southbound I-405 drivers experienced up to 30-minute delays on their drives in from Lynnwood. Those 15-16 mile drives were taking an hour and 10 minutes during the prime morning commute.

Southbound SR 99 also experienced heavy delays, with backups into South Lake Union extending as far as Green Lake.

One of the hidden costs of this necessary construction was felt by drivers on their way home Monday evening. You cannot get on northbound I-5 at Harvard Avenue E. That eliminates the only freeway on-ramp between Mercer and NE 45th Street in the U-District. It made the Eastlake Neighborhood virtually impassable to many drivers who reached out to me about their experiences. This on-ramp will remain closed through most of the Ship Canal Bridge. WSDOT hopes to reopen that on-ramp once construction passes that spot, but there is no estimate on when that will happen.

It appears drivers forgot what awaited them this week after a month of normal traffic.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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