WSDOT telling travelers to plan ahead for holiday weekend

Memorial Day marks the start of the summer travel season, and that means folks are filling up the car and hitting the road.

While much of the country has experienced a non-traditional gas price dip as the holiday weekend approaches, Washington will likely see a climb of 10 to 35 cents by Memorial Day.

A fire at BP’s Cherry Point facility is contributing to a increase, as the supply tightens. “It may be weeks yet perhaps three to six weeks before things finally calm down and prices come down,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com.

Meanwhile, everyone on the move could mean delays for travelers that don’t plan ahead, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation

WSDOT has charted the predicted travel volumes on many of the most heavily trafficked roadways in the area. The charts list the number of cars expected on the roadways by hour throughout the holiday weekend.

Check projected traffic volumes:
I-5 Olympia to Tacoma
I-5 Bellingham to Canadian Border
I-90 North Bend to Cle Elum
US 2 Leavenworth to Stevens Pass

WSDOT recommends setting travel times according to when lower travel volumes are expected to avoid delays.

Washington State Ferries also expect a high volume of holiday travelers this weekend.

“Customers are advised to plan for heavy traffic and long wait times,” says the Washington State Ferry website.

They recommend travelers try to catch a boat outside of peak times.

For the Seattle-Bainbridge and Bremerton runs, WSF anticipates the most ferry traffic Thursday and Friday evenings heading westbound, and on Monday they anticipate long waits for those returning to Seattle.

Edmonds-Kingston and the Mukilteo-Clinton runs are also expected to experience heavy traffic westbound Thursday and Friday and eastbound for travelers returning on Monday.

>>Check the current ferry schedule

Travelers are also reminded that many transportation services will be running on holiday schedules for the Monday holiday.