Lynnwood to Tacoma at rush hour (Seattle, Bellevue: to rent, home, moving)

[jm31828]

I'm fairly new to the area, and next Tuesday evening my wife and I need to drive from Lynnwood to Tacoma for a concert. We'd be leaving home around 5:30, and with two of us of course will be able to utilize the HOV lanes. But my question is this- I know I-5 gets really jammed up most of the way from around Shoreline all the way through Seattle, including carpool lanes. So does it make more sense to take 405 around to Renton instead of 5 all the way through? I know from my commute from Lynnwood to Kirkland every day it seems the HOV lane is clear most of the time, making me think this would be a faster way around, but then again I'm no expert yet on the best ways to get around this area.

[Ira500]

Either choice is bad, going at 5:30 PM from Lynnwood to Tacoma.
But if I had to pick, I'd say stick to I-5, but it's sort of like having to pick from the electric chair or lethal injection as your method of execution.
The stretch between about Kirkland south to Tukwila on 405 is just going to be just awful. I-5 may be really bad, but a little harder to predict, but 405 you can guarantee is going to be bad.

[Inkpoe]

Just remember, the HOV lane will end after Federal Way and you're definitely going to be with some bad traffic. AVOID i405! Given the time frame, expect it be like... 2 hrs.

Personally I would suggest going on Hwy 99 which goes into DT Tacoma-- bit busy, but still moving. It shaves so much time off. After passing 348th st, it'll be smooth sailing. Its underutilized.

[JesseJB]

Glad Im not riding with OP! Id jump out!

[jm31828]

Thanks for all the info! Yeah, it stinks to have to make this drive at that time, but with our work schedules it's the only time we can go for that concert. We'll just be sure to expect a 2 hour drive so our hopes are not up for anything better.

[Xanathos]

One other piece of advice: If it's raining, leave even earlier. I've been making the Portland-Seattle-Portland drive a few times a week for a couple of weeks now, and every time there's even been a drizzle, I've found traffic at a complete standstill from Federal Way all the way to Lakewood (and once, well beyond into Olympia). There's always some idiot around the Emerald Queen, the mall, or the Dome that causes a wreck and results in traffic getting backed up for 15 miles.

My drive from Bellevue to Portland a couple of weeks ago took, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest, almost 8 hours due to the wall-to-wall traffic thanks to the rain. Rains 9 months of the year here and yet people still freak out when they see it.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

One other piece of advice: If it's raining, leave even earlier. I've been making the Portland-Seattle-Portland drive a few times a week for a couple of weeks now, and every time there's even been a drizzle, I've found traffic at a complete standstill from Federal Way all the way to Lakewood (and once, well beyond into Olympia). There's always some idiot around the Emerald Queen, the mall, or the Dome that causes a wreck and results in traffic getting backed up for 15 miles.

My drive from Bellevue to Portland a couple of weeks ago took, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest, almost 8 hours due to the wall-to-wall traffic thanks to the rain. Rains 9 months of the year here and yet people still freak out when they see it.

Ha! That's so true! They smash into each other when it rains, they smash into each other when it's sunny, and they smash into each other when it's snowy.
But they're pretty good drivers when it's cloudy.