As the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) continues their aggressive construction campaign to meet the mid-June/July world cup deadline, traffic continued to remain snarled around these hotspots.
However, INRIX data reveals another hotspot – Westbound I-90 – took the top spot. Traffic jammed across the lake for more than 10 hours on Saturday.
Highways and Interstates:
Travelers on both sides of the lake ran into major construction projects, on I-5, I-405, and SR 520 this weekend, yet the top bottleneck occurred on the only Interstate not to have construction – Interstate 90.
Top Bottleneck Westbound I-90
On Saturday, traffic jammed across the lake for more than 10.5 hours, with a backup extending more than six miles at its peak. Speeds dropped significantly after 8:00am, to a low of just 12 miles per hour around the 4:00pm hour. The chart below illustrates congestion last Saturday versus the average Saturday in April.
Many factors likely lead up to this traffic jam. For one, it was the only road without construction, leading many drivers to seek that roadway to get into and out of Seattle. Secondly, the Sounders took on San Diego at Lumen field in the early evening, adding to I-90 traffic woes.
SR 520 Westbound took the second spot, with traffic significantly impacted by the Eastbound SR 520 work, construction work on the Ship Canal Bridge, and general Westbound travel demand.
Rounding out third was Southbound SR 99 into Seattle.
Arterials and Roads
As noted in WSDOT’s construction map, Southbound I-405 was closed between Coal Creek Parkway and SR 900 in Renton, likely leading to Coal Creek Parkway as the top bottleneck among arterials and city roads/streets.
With the freeway closed, travelers sought alternative routes through Coal Creek Parkway down to SR 900.
Southbound Coal Creek Parkway on Saturday
Traffic slowed Southbound on Coal Creek Parkway to just under 12 miles per hour, versus the normal 30 miles per hour travel speed we typically see on Saturday.
Continuing Coverage
INRIX will continue to monitor Puget Sound traffic leading up to and through the World Cup events slated from June through July. The region is expected to see a surge in visitors that may place additional strain on the transportation network in the Puget Sound Region.