First Seattle Squeeze Commute: Worse For South Sound Commuters

SEATTLE, WA - The first commute with SR 99 closed in Seattle was shaping up to be slightly heavier than usual, according to WSDOT, but as of 7 a.m., but travel times were just a little longer than usual.

"Not used to seeing this much traffic on NB 5 into Seattle at this hour. If you can use an alternative into the city like the bus or light rail, you should," WSDOT wrote in a tweet just after 6:30 a.m. WSDOT also said it appeared many commuters had left home earlier than usual on Monday.

Travel times were just slightly above normal, especially for commuters coming from south King County and Pierce County.

The heaviest traffic was on I-5 south of downtown Seattle and - as usual - between Mountlake Terrace and the Ship Canal Bridge. Northbound I-5 from Renton through Newcastle was, as usual, backed up.

Seattle fire reported a rollover crash around 7 a.m. along Marginal Way Southwest, which parallels SR 99 on the west side of the Duwamish River. There was also a crash on the I-5 express lane off-ramp at Pike Street causing delays.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct closed Friday night. SR 99 will through Seattle will be closed to traffic until early February as WSDOT realigns the roadway into the new tunnel. About 90,000 drivers per day were using SR 99 as of last week.

Image via WSDOT