Duvall to Microsoft's Issaquah office (Redmond, Sammamish: school, buses, campus)

[CanadianMommy]

How long does the commute from Duvall area to Microsoft's Issaquah office take? Read lots of posts regarding the commute to the main Redmond location but not about Issaquah. Mapquest says its 38 minutes, but I know that's not reality in rush hour. My husband is the kind that leaves for work at 6:30 am to avoid being stuck here in Calgary (at that time of day it takes him 30 minutes, rush hour would take 45+, sometimes longer if there's a problem on the freeway) so wondering what its like there.

[CanadianMommy]

Address is 21925 SE 51st St, Issaquah, if that helps anyone.

[seattlerain]

It should not take too much longer even at peak traffic times. Much of the drive from Duvall to Issaquah is on Highway 203, which is a largely rural or semi-rural highway without high volumes of traffic.

[Darkmatter]

There are only a three ways to route, all of which are very busy at peak traffic times. I drove from Monroe -> MSFT Sammamish campus for a year and the drive was inconsistent. Shortest time was about an hour, longest time could be double that. Your husband will cut 15-20 minutes off my times by starting in Duvall.

Most of the traffic pressure was between Redmond -> Issaquah. You can go up and over the Sammamish plateau up Sahalie Way(my typical route), around the East side of the plateau (via 203) and then cut back across West on Duthie Road, it's a pretty drive but further around, last option is E Lake Samm Parkway, which is ridden with school buses and saddled with a 25-35 MPH speed limit the entire way.

Highway 202 gets really backed up as well, with pressure from Carnation/Fall City and the north end of the Plateau, mainly traffic headed through Redmond (to MSFT main campus and points beyond presumably). This creates a problem with the Sahalie route a lot of times where traffic is stacked up continuing West on highway 202 (Redmond/Fall City Road), preventing getting into the left turn lane to head South on Sahalie Way (the "up over the plateau" route).

Your husband will need an earlier start than 6:30 to beat the traffic btw. In fact, I found things much improved leaving at 8-8:30am, mainly because the school buses were all finished by the time I go into Sammamish/Issaquah.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info