Our experience driving up and down I5 in the Seattle area in '09 was miserable: nasty traffic compounded by some of the worst interstate pavement I've ever experienced. I'm heading that way next week and am hoping that local Escape owners can offer some advice.
I see that it's possible to avoid I5 north of Tacoma by going east and north on Hwys 18 to 167 to 405. Would it be worth the effort in terms of traffic congestion and pavement quality to do so? I'll be going up and down around mid-day. Or, should I just suck it up and do I5?
Avoid I-5 if you can. The traffic and the quality of the pavement have only become worse since 2009. Hwy 18 to 167 to I-405 would be my recommendation mid-day. And if there are 2 of you in the vehicle, you are a carpool which makes it even better.
Just don't stay on 18 to I-90. The climb over Tiger Mountain is a tough one.
Mid-day you should be ok on I-5. At least in my experience, during the day 405 can be far worse than I-5. Rush hour nothing moves so you may as well park at a rest stop!! I live further south, so this is only from my limited experience. I check google for traffic info before leaving Olympia, that's for sure
I live in Seattle and recommend staying off I-5 between 6:30am to 9:30 am and between 3:00 pm to 6:00pm. Other than "rush hour" (an oxymoron) traffic flows fairly well on I-5.
We rolled down the I-5 2 days ago returning from a trip to Yosemite. The highway was no rougher than prior trips, we always time our transit of Seattle prior to or after the rush hours. Thank goodness we decided to come home a day early as we missed the Skagit River bridge failure in Mt Vernon yesterday. Do Escape 17's float?
One more trip completed
The Escapist
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The Escapist
2015 Nissan Frontier Pro-X short box
2018 Escape 19. Previously 2006 Escape 17B and excellent memories