Heading over Snoqualmie Pass? Take your patience
Remember a few weeks ago when Snoqualmie Pass was covered with snow, yet again?
Well, welcome to Memorial Day weekend.
The snow is, mercifully, gone. But Snoqualmie and roads pretty much everywhere will be covered with something else this weekend — holiday traffic.
And road warriors will want to bring time and patience to their holiday excursions this weekend. Gas prices will be up and roads will be busy. But you already knew that.
AAA estimates 39 million Americans will hit the road for the three-day weekend this year.
Here’s a look at what drivers can expect:
Broken down cars: Along with an increase in the number of people traveling, the AAA auto club expects to be busy rescuing 350,000 of them them from dead batteries, flat tires and other mishaps. It recommends travelers check their batteries and tires before heading out.
Expect to pay more for gas: The national average is $2.37 per gallon but it’s far higher in the Mid-Columbia, averaging $2.74 per gallon Friday in the Tri-Cities, according to the GasBuddy price comparison site. A round-way trip to Coeur d’Alene in a newer Ford Explorer will cost you about $40 in gas. To Seattle, it’s closer to $52.
Road conditions
- I-90/Snoqualmie Pass: DOT is suspending construction work on the pass for the weekend. North Bend is a different story. There will be planned closures in the eastbound lanes through Sunday. Snoqualmie drivers should plan on an extra hour of travel time through the area. Traffic engineers estimate eastbound traffic will hit stop-and-go conditions Saturday morning while westbound conditions will reach stop-and-go status all day Monday.
- Highway 2 between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth: Moderate congestion is expected in both directions throughout the weekend. Stop-and-go conditions are expected in the westbound lanes on Monday.
- Chinook Pass is closed weekend.
Check road conditions for Washington at bit.ly/WashingtonRoadsMemorialDay/ and for Oregon at bit.ly/OregonRoadsMemorialDay
This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Heading over Snoqualmie Pass? Take your patience."