Drivers to Seattle shifting commute times to deal with I-90 work

Published 9:17 am Thursday, May 7, 2009

Drivers commuting from Bellevue to Seattle on Interstate 90 appear to be shifting their travel times to avoid the peak 7-9 a.m. commute time.

On Wednesday, drivers traveled earlier to avoid backups caused by the closure of the I-90 floating bridge express lanes. By traveling earlier, commute times to Seattle were reduced by several minutes.

The bottleneck that caused the big backups on Monday remains in place on the I-90 floating bridge, where construction crews are chipping concrete to remove and replace massive steel expansion joints. Work is under way in the I-90 express lanes and is scheduled to continue until May 23.

To keep traffic moving during the morning commute, Eastside drivers should continue to travel to Seattle earlier if possible. I-90 commuters are advised to avoid driving from 7-9 a.m. when backups are at their worst. The best bet is to leave before 6:30 a.m. or after 9 a.m. Commuters might consider avoiding I-90 altogether by taking I-405 to the south or SR 522 to the north.

Several collisions and rainy weather made for a difficult commute Wednesday evening. In general, travel times were close to normal and it took drivers about 20 minutes to travel from Seattle to Bellevue.

Regarding the construction work itself, day three of 19 consecutive days of closures on the I-90 express lanes saw steady progress to replace bridge expansion joints. WSDOT contractor crews spent much of the day Wednesday breaking up and removing old concrete.

That work continued Thursday with the goal of installing new joints this weekend. Next week, crews will adjust the joints, prepare to pour concrete and tie the joints to the floating bridge.

In a nutshell, here’s what you should do:

• Plan for 15- to 30-minute westbound delays crossing the I-90 bridge.

• Westbound I-90 commuters should leave well before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. or face up to an hourlong commute from Issaquah.

• Check the Web for the latest information at www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2009/today.

• Check the Seattle traffic map to pinpoint and avoid congestion www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle.

• Use the overhead freeway signs and the 511 driver information line to get up-to-the-minute information on the road.

• Call the state’s I-90 information hotline at 206.440.4444. The hotline is staffed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Leave a message and your call will be returned.

• Driver’s can also find out “what’s happening right now” on WSDOT’s site.