Everett to Bellingham commute

[Andy]

It will become a grinding commute. Traffic can get bad around Marysville and in Mount Vernon where the freeway loses a lane. There are plenty of great places between Bellingham and Everett, especially if you like natural splendor.

[Grumbler]

On a related note, I have to drive from either Bellingham or Everett
to Boise on a Monday morning. Will be moving my daughter to WWU
from her place in Seattle, and have to stay at a motel in either city.

Seems as if my best bet is Everett given the congestion on I-5 as I
could drive east on Hwy 2 to Monroe then cut south on Hwy 203 to
Fall City and eastbound I-90.

However, if I stay in Bellingham that night, how far south can I drive
on I-5 before congestion forces me to take an off-ramp to Hwy 9?

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by Andy

It will become a grinding commute. Traffic can get bad around Marysville and in Mount Vernon where the freeway loses a lane. There are plenty of great places between Bellingham and Everett, especially if you like natural splendor.

The freeway in Mt. Vernon is a breeze. Only at times of construction is it ever a concern. And honestly, it's just not all that often that it really creates much of a delay.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by Grumbler

On a related note, I have to drive from either Bellingham or Everett
to Boise on a Monday morning. Will be moving my daughter to WWU
from her place in Seattle, and have to stay at a motel in either city.

Seems as if my best bet is Everett given the congestion on I-5 as I
could drive east on Hwy 2 to Monroe then cut south on Hwy 203 to
Fall City and eastbound I-90.

However, if I stay in Bellingham that night, how far south can I drive
on I-5 before congestion forces me to take an off-ramp to Hwy 9?

If you leave early enough and there's two or more of you (HOV), you should be OK. If you hit the 405/90 interchange by 6 to 630am you should have clear sailing. From there east is wide open.

[Grumbler]

Originally Posted by Bill Loney

If you leave early enough and there's two or more of you (HOV), you should be OK. If you hit the 405/90 interchange by 6 to 630am you should have clear sailing. From there east is wide open.

It'll just be me, unfortunately, and it looks as if the motels in Everett
are located in questionable neighborhoods based on the reviews.

Okay, if I stay in Bellingham, looks like cutting over to Hwy 9 as soon
as it gets congested on I-5 is my best bet.

I might drive out to Issaquah or someplace east of there for the night
as that shouldn't take more than 90 minutes. Having an early supper
with my daughter in Bellingham if I don't spend the night there.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by Grumbler

It'll just be me, unfortunately, and it looks as if the motels in Everett
are located in questionable neighborhoods based on the reviews.

Okay, if I stay in Bellingham, looks like cutting over to Hwy 9 as soon
as it gets congested on I-5 is my best bet.

I might drive out to Issaquah or someplace east of there for the night
as that shouldn't take more than 90 minutes. Having an early supper
with my daughter in Bellingham if I don't spend the night there.

If you leave Bham at 5am, you'll be fine. Highway 9 shortcut isn't really a good idea.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Bill Loney

The freeway in Mt. Vernon is a breeze. Only at times of construction is it ever a concern. And honestly, it's just not all that often that it really creates much of a delay.

It was backed up for miles last time I was through back in March. Going northbound the freeway loses a lane, and that causes backups during congested times.

[lightning31]

I commute 2x per week between Bellingham and Seattle and it's not fun at all. It will be long and congested out of Everett especially if you're not *in* Everett and south of Highway 2 until you get past the Seattle Outlet Mall in Marysville. It takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Everett from here in good traffic.

Also, when you leave Burlington going north and head up into the Chuckanuts and around Lake Samish that area gets icy and snowy in the winter even when Bellingham is fine, so you would want to be prepared for several months of possible encounters with winter weather driving especially in that area. God forbid there are any accidents or construction. This year, they closed part of I-5 Northbound in Burlington all the way to the Whatcom County line and that made for a hellish commute.

And then to Grumblr,

Highway 9 is horrible and not a viable option to get around any of the traffic on I-5 as it's just too underbuilt except in the City of Snohomish/Seattle Hill area around Hwy 2 (it's down to a one lane bridge in one part of North Snohomish Co.) and if you had to drive from here to Boise you'd quickly add well over an hour to your drive. Cutting through Monroe and down to Fall City is also very long and if you leave at the wrong time you'll get caught in congestion there too. They are doing construction on 522 so other people will be looking to go around that way to the Eastside as well. It all looks close to I-5 but it's so not when you have to drive through suburbia to get there.

I would say leave Bellingham early to miss the traffic or try and get farther down into the Bothell area around Canyon Park. Everett itself isn't that great but there's a Holiday Inn Express off 128th and I-5 and that area isn't bad that I've found and you could cut around some of the I-5 traffic through Bothell but you'll still get stuck on 405 through to I-90.

Bottom line, there aren't many good options if you have to leave during rush hour. You just end up sitting and waiting..you will get through eventually.

[Grumbler]

Originally Posted by lightning31

Highway 9 is horrible and not a viable option to get around any of the traffic on I-5 as it's just too underbuilt except in the City of Snohomish/Seattle Hill area around Hwy 2 (it's down to a one lane bridge in one part of North Snohomish Co.) and if you had to drive from here to Boise you'd quickly add well over an hour to your drive. Cutting through Monroe and down to Fall City is also very long and if you leave at the wrong time you'll get caught in congestion there too. They are doing construction on 522 so other people will be looking to go around that way to the Eastside as well. It all looks close to I-5 but it's so not when you have to drive through suburbia to get there.

Back in June 2007 we drove east from Issaquah to Preston then north
through Monroe to Arlington before cutting west to I-5 via 530. Recall
lots of stoplights on 9. Thanks for the heads-up on 522. That definitely
doesn't help with the commute. Looks like I-5 and I-405 to I-90 would
be the way to go should I spend the night in Bellingham.

I would say leave Bellingham early to miss the traffic or try and get farther down into the Bothell area around Canyon Park. Everett itself isn't that great but there's a Holiday Inn Express off 128th and I-5 and that area isn't bad that I've found and you could cut around some of the I-5 traffic through Bothell but you'll still get stuck on 405 through to I-90.

I think my best bet is to stay in Issaquah that night so as to avoid all the
rush hour traffic. Besides, it's quite a long drive to Boise. Am sure that my
daughter won't be lacking for company at WWU after an early supper. I'd
like to spend more time with her visiting Bellingham, but we'll have had 3
full days together (2 in Seattle) before I depart so it's all good.

Bottom line, there aren't many good options if you have to leave during rush hour. You just end up sitting and waiting..you will get through eventually.

True. If I lived closer, rush hour wouldn't be much of an issue. Staying in
Issaquach also gives me the opportunity to see Snoqualmie Falls again. I
like the road from there to the I-90 jct in North Bend.