Many Snohomish County commuters have reported longer commutes post-tolling on I-405, and now the state confirms that is true, at least for the evening drive home.
Heavy congestion north of Bothell now starts earlier for the evening commute and builds from there, spreading from 3:30 to 7 p.m., reports the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The reason? New braided ramps at the Highway 522 interchange have helped traffic flow at that interchange but also shifted clog points further north along I-405, staff say.
“If you’re driving the entire 17 miles from Bellevue to Lynwood, you might get home slightly sooner, but if you’re making a shorter trip north of SR 522 you’ll likely experience new delays,” according to the staff writers at the WSDOT Blog.
In the morning, those who travel the whole 17-mile corridor have seen improvement in the time they spend on the interstate, whether they’re in the general purpose lanes or express toll lanes. One month into tolling, morning commuters made the Lynnwood-to-Bellevue trip on I-405 in about 40 minutes, about 20 minutes less than the same time a year ago and 10 minutes less than two years ago.
South of Highway 522, a new lane of pavement was added to the interstate to serve as a second express toll lane, helping those who travel the whole length of the tolling corridor.
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