WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Traveling this Memorial Day weekend? Check this first

Most people use this three-day weekend to get out – to camp or hike, to visit friends and family or see a baseball game. To travel.

So you probably want to know about this little secret: we know exactly when and where traffic will be bad.

In fact, there are maps and charts spelling it all out for you.

Some of the information is counter-intuitive. You’d think that Sunday would be pretty safe, right? Everybody should be headed back home on Monday, not Sunday.The state Department of Transportation has a website devoted to Memorial Day weekend, with specific information on trouble spots and charts with when you should drive – and when you should stay off the road.

But if you look at the data, at reality, the trouble spot of I-5 from Tacoma to Olympia is tough on Sunday, especially if you’re going north bound on I-5. There’s a history of stop-and-go traffic northbound from about noon to five, and 11 a.m. to noon is only slightly better.

You can also check other traffic hot spots around the state, like I-90 from Seattle to Ellensburg, Highway 2 from Everett to Leavenworth and I-5 around Bellingham to the Canadian border.