I5 through Seattle

[J-KB]

Anyone know of a better way to get through Seattle with out using the I5 ? I'm leaving Portland on Saturday heading to Anacortes, and I know the road is a nightmare.
Thanks in advance folks.

[Fire5er]

You could take 405 but it's not much better and it is longer. I just take I-5 when we go north of Seattle.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep Fire5er is right just bite the bullet and head up I-5 But not in Rush hour if you can help it ,When I was a truck driver that was My Route was Downtown Seattle and just avoid 7AM to 9AM or so and 2-6 PM So try and time it between 10AM to 2PM going thru Seattle and it should not be Too bad

[Carl n Susan]

Tacoma and downtown Seattle are traffic nightmares. I make the I-5 trip regularly and this is the route I prefer.

Just past Fort Lewis/McChord military base, take [s]Hwy-152[/s] Hwy-512 east.

From Hwy-162 take Hwy-161 north which becomes Hwy-167.

Hwy-167 then intersects I-405 north around Renton which will take you around most of the mess (but not all) until it meets up I-5 north of Seattle.

Avoid peak commute times and you will be able to make good time.

On edit: Corrected typo.

[Dam Worker]

Drive late into the evening to avoid most of the traffic. I just went to Lincoln City and back through Portland early rush hour going south and early morning going north. Way better to avoid the traffic. I will say some of the drivers around Portlard have to be the biggest a-holes around, worse than most any other city I driven in. Good luck and happy roads to you.

Tom Marty

[The Oldguard]

quote:Originally posted by carl n susan

Tacoma and downtown Seattle are traffic nightmares. I make the I-5 trip regularly and this is the route I prefer.

Just past Fort Lewis/McChord military base, take Hwy-152 east.

From Hwy-162 take Hwy-161 north which becomes Hwy-167.

Hwy-167 then intersects I-405 north around Renton which will take you around most of the mess (but not all) until it meets up I-5 north of Seattle.

Avoid peak commute times and you will be able to make good time.

Butch, that should be Hwy-512

[jimandlaurie]

I'm kinda with Oldguard, on maybe taking 512 to 167,405 route. A lot depends on time and highway traffic conditions whether you go that way or straight up I-5. ...BTW right now the Wash State Fair is on and the traffic can be a mess on 512 in the Puyallup area. As you aaproach from Olympia try to listen close to the road reprts..KIRO97.3, and KOMO97.7 are good usually with regular updates...unless you have a good traffic app on your device.

[Drifty1]

Just a note, they are were working on Hwy 167 a little south of County Rd 18 the last time we went through the area. You can also keep up to date with the Waze app which is good for making last minute choices on which way to go.

[pkbridges77]

We did this on a Saturday about a month ago - just happened to be the day of airshow and Blue Angels at Boeing field and the weekend festival at Anacortes. It was a mess the entire way, and I experienced my overload of those "Portland" drivers. The drive down 101 through Shelton and the ferry from Port Townsend was MUCH less stressful

[Mike117]

I 5 on a Saturday in the morning should be ok. Check and see if the Mariners are playing. If they are it usually is an evening game. 405 to I 5 you will get a little Everett traffic. Once past Everett straight shot to Hwy 20 west. I-5 through downtown bottle necks at the stadiums and can be slow. Depending on time of day the HOV lane may be open. Pulling a rig through Seattle can be terrible.

[Carl n Susan]

quote:Originally posted by Mike117


..Depending on time of day the HOV lane may be open...

You should be advised WA prohibits towing a trailer over 10K in the HOV lanes.

[PNW Fireguy]

Common misconception, the HOV lane is not the the left lane. The RCW reads:

(1) RCW 46.61.100(3) mandates that no vehicle towing a trailer or no vehicle or combination over 10,000 lb. may use the left lane of limited access roadways having three or more lanes in one direction, and that a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane is not considered the left hand lane of a roadway. Within this section, 10,000 lb. means 10,000 lb. gross vehicle weight (G.V.W.).