Driving Seattle to Vancouver

[missscarlet]

What is the best time to try to leave on a Friday afternoon?

[Putterdude]

Don't know where you are leaving from in Seattle but if from SEA-TAC then I would want to be on the road before 2 pm or after 7 pm. to avoid the heavy traffic. I just drove thru Seattle 3 weeks ago at about 2:30 / 3:00 pm on a nice sunny Thursday afternoon and the traffic was bad, bad, bad.

[Langley Cruisers]

What is the best time to try to leave on a Friday afternoon?

 

As early as possible. Can you not leave in the morning? Traffic, border line-ups, construction delays all play into it.

[martincath]

Here is a very, very useful tool. Plug in where you're leaving from, with Everett as the destination (north end of the whole Seattle-area conurbation).

 

It's slightly less accurate at the moment due to no new info about how the changed HOT lanes on the 405 are impacting matters, but if you are starting from anywhere north of the southern I5/405 junction it's still spot-on.

 

But the info from both posters above is solid - we always aim to be hitting Seatac no later than 1pm on a weekday on our many drives up from Portland, so that we are generally getting out of the north end well before 2:30pm. Brown stuff really starts hitting the proverbial much later than that.

[xlxo]

Don't know where you are leaving from in Seattle but if from SEA-TAC then I would want to be on the road before 2 pm or after 7 pm. to avoid the heavy traffic. I just drove thru Seattle 3 weeks ago at about 2:30 / 3:00 pm on a nice sunny Thursday afternoon and the traffic was bad, bad, bad.

Agreed about avoiding the Seattle commuter congestion.... however.... I'm also seeing similar congestion problems between Vancouver and the border in recent days. With Marine drive construction and Pattullo work going until the Fall.... The bridges and tunnels are gridlocked going Northbound between 2pm and 7pm in recent days.

 

One option is to use the Port Mann.... it's a toll bridge and there's a premium with rental car administration.

 

Check Google Maps on the congestion and then decide on the best route.

 

One idea is to leave Seattle just before 2pm..... by the time you cross the border... hopefully you will be at the tailend of the Vancouver congestion.

Edited May 4, 2016 by xlxo

[Gardyloo]

What is the best time to try to leave on a Friday afternoon?

What time do you have to be in Vancouver? And by the way, there are a number of fairly scenic alternative routes which might add some driving time, but are much more interesting.

[missscarlet]

Thank you for all the replies. We do not have to be there a certain time, just hoping for the best option for traffic/border since we've never done the drive. We would be leaving from downtown area, and prob not any earlier than noon.

[Langley Cruisers]

We would be leaving from downtown area, and prob not any earlier than noon.

 

Well, carry on with your plans and hope for the best. Enjoy your drive. :)

[Jasperdo]

You didn't specify exactly when you would be making this drive. But you need to be aware of major construction on Northbound I-5 until early June. WDOT is repairing the expansion joints on two bridges just south of Marysville, Washington, and it's creating huge backups. The main construction is taking place on Saturdays and Sundays. The Northbound lanes are deduced to two, and last weekend it created a 12 mile backup. Here's a link to the Project's home page:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/unionsteamboatebeybridgerpr/