I-90 commute into Seattle slower Tuesday, but not by much, says DOT

Eastside commuters bracing for traffic nightmares due to construction work on Interstate 90 are finding more cars on the road and slower-than-usual drive times into Seattle, but "not by a whole lot," a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said early Tuesday.

At 7:07 a.m., it was taking drivers about 25 minutes to travel westbound I-90 from Interstate 405 in Bellevue to Rainier Avenue South in Seattle. Nearly a half-hour later, at 7:36 a.m., it took 26 minutes to make the crossing.

That's "a little longer than typical — maybe five minutes — but not huge," said transportation spokeswoman Jamie Holter.

Meanwhile, traffic on alternate routes into Seattle was moving only slightly more slowly than usual, officials said. Crossing the 520 bridge at about 7 a.m. took 13 minutes — about three minutes behind a typical commute's time, according to the department's Web site.

"Overall, it's going really well," Holter said.

Transportation officials were expecting a much slower commute than on Monday, the first workday since construction on the I-90 floating bridge began. Crews are fixing joints on the westbound side of the bridge, closing it down entirely to traffic through July 20.

Traffic is being funneled from the normally five lane commuting route into two lanes of the I-90 express lanes.

Many people took Monday off as part of the Independence Day weekend, and Monday was also a scheduled furlough day for King County employees. Transportation officials said fewer cars on the road contributed to a relatively smooth early commute Monday, but that drive times across Lake Washington slowed as the commute wore, peaking at more than a half-hour between 8 and 9 a.m.

Tuesday's morning commute hasn't been much different. "It's the same travel times as yesterday so far," Holter said.

Westbound I-90 traffic nearing the Interstate 405 interchange was "bunching up," resulting in a long back up for drivers exiting I-90, Holter added.

Officials say efforts to inform commuters about the construction work via Twitter and blog updates seem to be paying off. More commuters got earlier starts, took public transportation or found other ways to work, Holter said.

Monday's afternoon commute, exacerbated by a Mariners' game, caused long traffic delays both into and out of the city, however. Eastbound traffic is also affected by the construction work, as the Express lanes are closed to traffic heading out of the city.

Officials ask commuters to check the transportation department's website — http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/construction/2009/today — for current conditions.

Lewis Kamb: 206-464-2341 or lkamb@seattletimes.com