 May 24, 2024
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Memorial Day weekend is often the unofficial start of summer, and many people are expected to take to Washington state’s highways. To help with your travel plans, we released travel charts for the holiday weekend last week. The charts include the best (and worst) times to travel on major routes like Interstate 5 between Olympia and Tacoma, US 2, I-90 and the I-5/U.S.-Canadian border.
Most state highway construction work is suspended through the holiday weekend – including Friday, May 24 – to ease congestion. Please stay alert for new lane shifts or other work zone staging areas that may remain in place. And please give any emergency repair crews plenty of space to work safely.
Snoqualmie Pass
Even though there is no planned construction on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, you should still expect delays with increased holiday traffic. Text message alerts about significant delays are available by texting the words “WSDOT Snoqualmie” to 468311.
Tolling
In the Puget Sound region, weekend toll rates will be in effect on Monday, May 27, on the State Route 520 bridge and SR 99 tunnel. The I-405 express toll lanes will be free and open to all drivers on the Monday holiday. Out-of-town travelers, including those using rental cars, can learn about toll roads and temporary account payment options on the Good To Go! visitors page.
"Know before you go"
We recommend following these tips whether traveling across town or statewide:
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 Washington State Ferries expects to welcome approximately 350,000 people aboard over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
As the crewing situation improves, Washington State Ferries’ cancellation rate has been cut in half over the past year. That’s good news for the hundreds of thousands of people that will take to the Salish Sea for the unofficial start of the busy summer travel season. State ferry ridership is expected to approach 350,000 over Memorial Day weekend, from Thursday, May 23, through Monday, May 27.
Holiday schedules
On Memorial Day, May 27, there will be a few holiday schedule changes for the Anacortes/San Juan Islands, Edmonds/Kingston, Mukilteo/Clinton, Point Defiance/Tahlequah and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes. The Seattle/Bainbridge Island run will operate a Saturday timetable, and the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route will run on a two-boat weekend timetable. Holiday sailings are marked on the schedules for each route.
Travelers can download the WSDOT mobile app for up-to-the-minute service information, including rider alerts and a real-time map to track the boats.
Increase in completed sailings
WSF has been vigorously recruiting, hiring and training employees to increase crewing during a global shortage of mariners. Because of those efforts, the system completed 99.1% of sailings scheduled in January through April of this year, up from 97.8% during the first four months of 2023.
Nothing says Memorial Day weekend in Whatcom County quite like the Ski to Sea race. The annual event, a seven-leg relay from the Mt. Baker Ski Area to Marine Park in Bellingham, is scheduled for Sunday, May 26. Teams of eight will compete in cross country skiing, downhill skiing/snowboarding, running, road biking, canoeing, cyclocross biking and sea kayaking, and a couple of those legs could affect your travel plans.
SR 542/Mount Baker Highway will be closed east Silver Lake Road in Maple Falls from 7:15 to 11 a.m. Sunday. You also could see riders crossing SR 547/Kendall Road and SR 544 in Everson, where law enforcement officers will control intersections. Please keep your eye out for competitors, follow instructions from officers and plan for delays around the race route with extra traffic in the area.
We often have special events and roadwork taking place in the Northend, including construction projects, maintenance and repairs. We always try to minimize any effects to travel, but sometimes it is necessary to close a lane to do the work or create a safe work zone for our crews.
While we aren't doing a lot of roadwork this week, our crews will still be out monitoring and keeping the roads safe. If you spot them, slow down and give them space to work! A huge thanks to our crews for all their hard work through the holidays.
Want more information? Visit our real time travel center, where these projects and repairs can be found on our travel map, and download our app to receive alerts directly to your smartphone.
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Sunday, May 26
- From 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. the Ski to Sea event will close SR 542/Mount Baker Highway between Silver Lake Road (milepost 25) to the Mt. Baker Ski Area (milepost 55). People should expect extra congestion, road closures and more bikers/pedestrians on the roadway for the event.
Tuesday, May 28
- From 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. maintenance crews will close the left lane of northbound I-5 in Bellingham from Iowa Street (milepost 254) to Northwest Avenue (milepost 257) for shoulder work.
Wednesday, May 29
Wednesday and Thursday, May 29-30
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From 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, to 5 a.m. Thursday, May 30, maintenance crews will close the left lane of southbound I-5 south of Bellingham from Nulle Road (milepost 243) to Lake Samish Road (milepost 241) for guardrail repairs.
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From 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, to 5 a.m. Thursday, May 30, maintenance crews will close the right lane of southbound I-5 in Bellingham near SR 11/Old Fairhaven Parkway (milepost 250) for guardrail repairs.
Wednesday, May 29, through Saturday, June 1
Thursday, May 30
Thursday and Friday, May 30-31
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From 9:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, to 5:30 a.m. Friday, May 31, crews will close the right lane of eastbound SR 20 in Burlington at Nevitt Street (milepost 59) for roadwork.
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Travelers should expect to see low-flying aircraft flying over SR 20 in Concrete to support Washington State Department of Agriculture's efforts to eradicate spongy months, an invasive species in Washington. This work is weather permitting.
While we recognize low-flying planes can be cool to see, please slow down and pay attention.
For more information follow: Invasive Moths | Washington State Department of Agriculture
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