Expect more traffic as UW students return to class

SEATTLE — University of Washington students are getting up and going to class for the first day of the school year Wednesday.

That means drivers should expect more traffic in the morning around the university.

Unlike when school started for younger students a month ago, the extra cars will be spread out throughout the day.

The surface streets in the U-District will of course be busier, but you can also expect more congestion on I-5 and SR 520, as people head to class.

KIRO 7 Traffic Anchor Rachel Calderon be watching the DOT cameras this morning, as it gets closer to the start time. Follow Rachel on Facebook and Twitter for traffic updates.

One specific bottleneck will be on northbound I-5 around Northeast 45th Street, just past the Ship Canal Bridge.

But one thing that will bring some welcome relief is Sound Transit's U-Link.

The light rail line connecting UW to Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle opened in March, and ridership skyrocketed.

In the first two months, ridership on U-Link doubled to more than 63,000 people a day, surprising even Sound Transit, and not far from the agency's ridership projections 14 years from now – 71,000 per day in the year 2030.

Cox Media Group