Construction, express lane closures snarl traffic for miles on Interstate 90

It's looking like a pretty rough commute this morning for people who need to get to the west side of Lake Washington. As of 8:45 AM, traffic was stop and go all the way from Issaquah and Lake Sammamish to the shores of Lake Washington, with State Route 520 looking like it normally does on weekday afternoons - a nearly solid black line stretching from Interstate 405 to the water.


Traffic might not be so bad if fewer people had decided to drive today, but alas, it doesn't seem like warnings about the severity of the express lane closures were heeded very closely. Perhaps tomorrow we'll see more folks taking transit.

Remember, Metro and Sound Transit Express buses are able to utilize the HOV lanes on Interstate 90 and State Route 520 for most of the stretch of highway that's backed up. If you take the bus, you'll get to where you're going faster.

It's a shame there's no cross lake light rail, but eventually, it'll be possible to get from Seattle to Bellevue and back on the train without long delays.

We just have to get East Link built.