The 5 worst traffic spots in western Washington

KING 5 News ^ | September 13, 2019 | Brittany Moorer

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — We're taking a look at the worst of the worst traffic spots in western Washington – and some of the solutions to the problem.

Marysville

A problem spot in Marysville has city and state transportation officials working to come up with a fix.

Interstate 5 traffic between Everett and Marysville gets congested during rush hour.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, between 1980 and 2017, the population of Snohomish County increased 137%. It's expected to gain another 200,000 residents by 2035.

This explosive growth increased the number of vehicles using I-5 between Everett and Marysville, with around 65,000 a day in the northbound direction alone.

"Just seeing the growth take place, especially out of the recession, it's significant. Certainly home values and all that is driving all of that growth coming up to Marysville. It's more affordable," said Jeff Laycock, Marysville city engineer.

However, drivers rejoice, help is on the way.

The First Street Bypass is just one of many projects tackling the explosive growth in this area.

The First Street Bypass will give drivers another option to get off of I-5 and head east into Marysville. It includes improvements to provide east-west connectivity from State Avenue to 47th Avenue.

Once complete, it will hopefully decrease congestion downtown and allow people to use First Street instead of having to sit in traffic to get off at the Fourth Street exit.

The project is needed in order to decrease congestion at Fourth Street and to mitigate traffic congestion through downtown as a result of the new state freeway interchange coming at State Route 529 and I-5.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Various pictures and videos in original.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING.

[BobL]

So the train North of Seattle did NOT solve that traffic problem? Where do we get our billions back?

[dainbramaged]

That stretch of I-5 near the Tacoma Dome is a nightmare and has been under construction for decades, it seems.
It helps to know the back roads around here.

[Publius]

The key problem is growth. I-5 and I-405 were built 50 years ago when there was a smaller population. Neither highway has been able to keep up with the growth that began in the mid-1980s.

The Puget Sound region has the same problem as San Diego. You have water on one side and mountains on the other, which means that you have to build upward, not outward, as the area grows. This creates a situation where the highway system can't keep up, and the cost of widening in an urban area makes a grand stroke of expansion financially impossible.

This is why the region is investing in rail-based transportation. When you have a high enough concentration of population, you need an alternative to the highways. You need transit.

[Nuke From Orbit]

Adding another “Toll” road on the 405 section.... WTH... These do nothing to solve traffic density or congestion but it does stuff those WSDOT coffers... what a mess.

[Publius]

All successful cities are congested. Ancient Rome was congested. If you run across a city without congestion, like Detroit, you are looking at an unsuccessful city. The trick is to manage congestion.

If you built a new highway or expand the capacity of an existing highway, you have only a short time before the new or expanded highway is just as congested as before. It's called "modal split," and it's the nightmare of highway engineers.

Once you hit a tipping point, you get more bang for the buck by expanding transit, not trying to keep up with the highways. Rail-based transit has its uses in certain corridors of high density where it functions as a trunk feeder, permitting people to finish their trip by bus at a transit center node or by car at a park-and-ride node.

The Puget Sound region has been moving in that direction since Boeing started hiring again in 1984 and with the arrival of the software industry. If you read the article closely, you'll see that they're suggesting patches to existing highways rather than the broad brush of building new freeways, SR-167 and SR-509 excepted.

[Steely Tom]

That poor lady, who has to sit there and grin like that on TV.

[RainMan]

Actually, the key problem is their assumptions. Their assumptions about Bellevue are idiotic. Oh, parking is expensive so people will get out of their cars. They admit that the choke points are 520 and I-90, and those are commuters that are getting on 405, and the bulk majority are going from somewhere on one side of Bellevue to somewhere on the other side of Bellevue. I live S of Bellevue, and when I go into the office, it is in Redmond. 15 miles from the office, and my commute is regularly more than 1 hour, even with back roads. If you are not on 405, your choices to get between 520 and I-90 are Bellevue Way, 108th (which merges w Bellevue Way), 148th, 156th, and W Lake Samm. Only 2 of those are 2 lanes each way the full length (Bell Way and 148th).

[Fraxinus]

I believe that Transit proponents are their own worst enemies.

Most of them seem blind to the fact that much of the population knows global warming is a hoax, and thus any argument that utilizes global warming as a reason to support transit is at best a waste of time and at worst is a convincing argument to oppose the transit proposal.

The percentage of utilization numbers that seem to be entirely wish based appears to me to approach unity. The difficulties of convincing people to use transit instead of driving is always underestimated. High-speed rail is the worst, very few of those that drive between the destinations are going to take the train instead of driving just because it is a train. High speed rail will take it’s passengers from the short haul aircraft.

[ManOfLaMuncha]

The infrastructure can’t and won’t keep up with the influx of California’s labor force bailing from the high tax rates. Port Angeles and Squim used to be sleepy little townships with hillside property you couldn’t give away. Then the 20-something-year old Microsoft retired millionaires discovered the view was sensational. They, plus the California tax protesters caused the areas to explode in value, and the two job burger flippers putting kids through school saw their rental fees explode as well. So, the wealthy now control the township boards, and the criminals now own the streets at night. Whatever liberals touch putrefies.

[rockrr]

I worked for a boss who liked to punish underlings by transferring them to distant office locations. I’m a south-eastside guy so he sent me to Olympia. I actually didn’t mind since bulk of the traffic was going the other way. So instead he sent me to Bot-hell.

Having to endure the I-167/I-405 nightmare each day took its toll and, lacking any other options or any sympathetic ears within the company, I chose to retire early (well, eight months but still).

I am SO glad that I do not have to subject myself to that horror any longer!

[Starcitizen]

... and Indian H1B trash driving their late model upscale sports cars while Americans are stuck driving get-mobiles are by far the worst, most arrogant drivers in Redmond and Bellevue. Used to see cops pull over that trash on Bel-Red Road and near the Fred Meyer a lot there. They drive like it’s India

[ShorelineMike]

The five worst traffic spots in Western Washington:

1. Seattle
2. Tacoma
3. Bellevue
4. Everett
5. Olympia