Seattle Area's Worst Traffic Spot Is 20 Miles Long

SEATTLE, WA - The most congested stretch of road in the region stretches a mind-boggling 20 miles from downtown Seattle to near downtown Everett. That's according to a new study from Inrix, the Kirkland-based traffic data company.

The Puget Sound region has over 2,000 congested "hotspots," but the worst is along I-5 from Pike Street to 128th Street Southeast in Everett. Inrix calculated that the average trip along that stretch is about 7 miles, and a trip that length takes, on average, 39 minutes.

That stretch of I-5 was ranked 11th-worst on a national scale. Seattle's most congested stretch was sandwiched between downtown highways in Boston (No. 10) and Philadelphia (No. 12). Inrix also calculated the cost of each congested zone factoring in wasted time and the toll carbon emissions will take on the environment.

By 2026, the Seattle-to-Everett I-5 mess will have cost about $15 billion, according to Inrix.

Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated the length of the congested area as 27 miles long.

Image Neal McNamara/Patch.com