Here’s how to avoid the heaviest Whatcom traffic this July 4 weekend
Bellingham and Whatcom County residents who are traveling by car for the long Independence Day weekend can use a new online tools to see when traffic is heaviest to plan their drive.
This is the first major holiday weekend where the new Washington State Department of Transportation travel charts are available to help drivers plan for congestion on key routes.
These charts show hourly traffic volume at key points on Interstate 5, Interstate 90, and U.S. Highway 2, which are heavily traveled north-south and east-west roadways.
Using the tool, drivers headed south on Interstate 5 past Seattle will find heaviest traffic from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 1, and Saturday, July 2.
There’s little southbound traffic forecast on Monday, July 4, and heaviest northbound traffic from Lacey to Tacoma will be from noon to 4 p.m.
Data from Canadian border crossings isn’t available this year because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel and resulted in no reliable traffic data, WSDOT said at its website.
Other online tools to help travelers are WSDOT’s mobile app and its social media accounts, especially Twitter.
Links to statewide traffic cameras are available at wsdot.wa.gov, along with real-time statewide traffic data.
Construction projects have been idled statewide for the holiday weekend, WSDOT said.
