SEATTLE — The Revive I-5 project is causing major slowdowns in and out of Seattle, but it’s the southbound drivers who are really feeling the pinch during the morning commute, despite having construction on the northbound side.
The construction, which only recently revamped for the 2026 season, has made the express lanes northbound only 24/7, causing travel times from Everett to Seattle to spike from 40 minutes last week to 64 minutes this week, according to data from INRIX.
Meanwhile, the same route northbound decreased by three minutes. Traffic cameras show the traffic in the northbound lanes were nearly empty around the same time.
“That’s likely due to the express lanes not having as many on ramps and exits as the regular I-5 lanes. So, that’s probably why we’re seeing a little bit of relief there,” explained Bob Pishue, a traffic analyst with INRIX.
But why not just flip the express lanes to southbound during peak travel times?
Tom Pearce, a spokesperson for WSDOT, says it’s due to safety.
“It’s not easy to just flip the express lanes in an emergency situation. If we provided the express lane southbound during the morning commute, but we had a northbound emergency, it would take us quite a while to go ahead and flip the express lanes so that we could get that northbound safety valve release.”
Despite the current congestion, traffic analysts are optimistic that conditions will improve.
They anticipate that drivers will begin to explore alternative routes, utilize public transportation, or carpool to avoid the delays.