What you need to know about holiday travel in Western Washington
Dec 22, 2015, 11:39 PM | Updated: May 7, 2016, 11:40 pm
Holiday travel is challenging for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are going two hours or two states away.
Are you planning on hitting the road, rail or skies out of town? Try these Northwest travel tips on your holiday weekend.
Driving
1. Always check road conditions using the MyNorthwest traffic page.
2. Plan for winter conditions, dress in warm clothing and have an emergency kit ready.
3. Ugly traffic times vary depending on the route but three-day Christmas weekends are rare, so expect delays this year. If your trip includes I-5, the best thing to do is to leave after 6 p.m. on Dec 24. If you are returning on Dec. 26, do the same thing and travel at night.
Related: No sign of snow letting up in Washington mountains
4. Passes: I-90 has already been closed on and off due to storms this season. Click here to see if it is currently open. Prepare for delays, you’ll see ongoing closures this winter for avalanche control and accidents. Elsewhere in the mountains, the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) and Chinook (State Route 410) and Cayuse (junction of State Routes 123 and 410) passes have closed for the winter. White Pass recently reopened U.S. Route 12, but many stretches remain slow and reduced to one lane. Carry chains and other winter driving essentials. Check current chain and traction requirements on the WSDOT passes website, highway advisory signs or by calling 5-1-1.
5. Aside from emergency repair work, most other state highway construction work is suspended beginning noon on Thursday, Dec. 24, through the weekend to ease congestion.
6. Bridges: The 520 bridge will have weekend toll rates on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Also, on the new I-405 express toll lanes, the free carpool requirement will be two people all day on Christmas (it usually requires three people).
Ferries
1. Make a reservation for your boat time and expect heavy delays. Check ferry information here.
2. Winter ferry schedules begin Dec. 27. That schedule lasts through March 19. Several routes will see changes, including fewer sailings.
Trains
WSDOT added an extra holiday train between Seattle and Portland on Sunday, Dec. 27, to help travelers return home and ease highway congestion. All Amtrak Cascades trains require reservations. Visit Amtrak online or call 800-USA-RAIL for details.
SeaTac Airport
1. Pick up / Drop off: Pick up your friends at the departure area and drop off your friends at the arrival gates. Think in reverse, and the airport is totally cool with it.
2. Gifts on a plane: Wrapped gifts may need to be opened by security in order to examine for safety, so consider dropping by the two gift wrapping stations after you pass through security checkpoints. From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers from the USO Northwest will be inside of security checkpoints No. 2 and No. 3.
*You may contribute what you wish for this service.
3. ID: Confirm your travel details. A new FAA requirement is that the name on your boarding pass and your government-issued ID must match.
