I-5 or east to Aldergrove / Lynden

[tampatoms]

Driving from airport in Vancouver to Seattle about 3p on Saturday mid May 2011. With the long delays at the border crossing on 1-5 is it better to go over to route 13/539 and then down ? AAA shows 12 miles total further by going east and down from airport to Bellingham.

[Dan G]

if you look on tripadvisor.com Seattle forum. On righ FAQ's there is an extensive article on the best way to go without waiting too long. There is also a link to historical crossing times. If you read that it will answer all your questions.

[scottbee]

Driving from airport in Vancouver to Seattle about 3p on Saturday mid May 2011. With the long delays at the border crossing on 1-5 is it better to go over to route 13/539 and then down ? AAA shows 12 miles total further by going east and down from airport to Bellingham.

 

Typically neither. Exit 99 just before the border, head 2km east on 8th Ave, and south on Hwy15 (which becomes Hwy 543 in WA state), and then rejoin I5. This crossing is called the "Pacific Highway Crossing"/"Truck Crossing" ( (official/local name); and yes, cars are welcome. There's a big digital sign over the road which shows the wait times at both crossings, but the Truck Crossing is almost always faster than the Douglas/Peace Arch crossing

[Putterdude]

Driving from airport in Vancouver to Seattle about 3p on Saturday mid May 2011. With the long delays at the border crossing on 1-5 is it better to go over to route 13/539 and then down ? AAA shows 12 miles total further by going east and down from airport to Bellingham.

 

It certainly is an option and in fact if your Saturday in May 2011 happens to be the 21st or the 28th, one being a hoiliday in Canada and the other in the US then it could prove to be a big advantage. Route WA539 has had a lot of construction going on the past couple of years but from what I last read that should wrap up this summer.

[tampatoms]

Thanks for the timely replies, they are helpful to this ole' Tennessee man. As the saying goes " go east, ..., go east, or something similar.

[MissRabbit]

isn't it "go west, young man?"

 

if you went west, you better charter a boat lololol

 

Once in a while, we take the Peace Arch crossing but almost always jog over to take the Truck Crossing instead. It's usually faster, but they do have the wait times posted so you can decide at that point which route you want to go.

 

it's also a crapshoot as to which line you get in. Like the grocery store, you may get in a shorter line, but then have a super slow Border Agent (cashier) that takes forever to pass people through the border. We try and keep an eye on which lane seems to be moving more before we get to the point we have to choose.

[Sally Forth]

Driving from airport in Vancouver to Seattle about 3p on Saturday mid May 2011. With the long delays at the border crossing on 1-5 is it better to go over to route 13/539 and then down ? AAA shows 12 miles total further by going east and down from airport to Bellingham.

 

Listen to AM730 as you start the drive on Hwy 99. They aren't perfectly accurate, but are good at spotting trends in line-ups.

 

Viv

[Sally Forth]

Driving from airport in Vancouver to Seattle about 3p on Saturday mid May 2011. With the long delays at the border crossing on 1-5 is it better to go over to route 13/539 and then down ? AAA shows 12 miles total further by going east and down from airport to Bellingham.

 

I forgot to mention that if at all possible, stay off Hwy 1 heading east from Vancouver. That would eliminate both the Huntingdon/Sumas and Aldergrove/Lynden crossings. It is now almost 40 km of construction at 80 km speed limit, going through Burnaby over the Port Mann, and all the way out to Langley. I drive out to the valley four days a week and I've noticed that people are starting to avoid Hwy 1 and so 91 (usually a good alternate route going east and south) is starting to have hot spots.

 

Viv

[tampatoms]

We will be leaving from airport so looking at map seems we will be below route #1, also I just bookmarked AM station and I can start getting a feel for the area, thanks.

[trophy_23]

I almost always go to the Lynden crossing. I find it way more reliable interns of wait times, vs going from the Blaine crossing. I think it is worth the trip east, and it doesn't really take that long to join back up with I-5.