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How to avoid highway traffic into Seattle this weekend

SEATTLE — Weekend events are expected to lead to traffic issues across Western Washington, but especially in Seattle.

There’s pretty much no way to avoid those bottlenecks. INRIX Traffic Analyst Bob Pishue says to be prepared for a lot of congestion.

“If you’re in the north end, we see congestion start to build heading into Seattle mostly in the Marysville-Everett area, that’s pretty known for traffic as you’re heading down, the Northgate exits. If you’re heading from the South, all throughout JBLM is the bottleneck that we always talk about during Memorial Day,” Pishue said.

Since you can’t really avoid the trouble spots, the best thing you can do is adjust your time and give yourself at least two extra hours to get to where you’re going.

If you want to get into Seattle without driving, to the north, as far as Northgate station, Link light rail is an option, as well as to the south, just past Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Amtrak is also an option from Everett to Tacoma.

If you’re not near a rail station, every city and county bus line across Western Washington can get you to a station that will get you to Seattle.

Another option is to take the ferry! Many routes are running on alternate schedules, but some are already reserved if you’re planning on driving, so be sure to look ahead and visit the Washington State Ferries website.