Get ready for heavy traffic for July Fourth holiday

Busy times and trouble spots

Around the Puget Sound, the busiest holiday traffic times are expected to be from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and on Sunday from about noon into the late evening. Travelers can phone 5-1-1 for statewide traffic information.

(Within Seattle, expect very heavy traffic on Saturday evening for the Lake Union fireworks by Gas Works Park. Roads around Wallingford and Fremont and much of Lake Union will be particularly congested.)

• Interstate 5 / Stanwood:
While most road construction is suspended for the holiday, one of the three northbound lanes of I-5 will remain closed all weekend for four miles through Snohomish/Skagit counties from milepost 213 to 217 near Stanwood. The right lane is being repaired and resurfaced, a months-long project. For information, see www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/SR532ToHillDitch/.

• Interstate 5 / Olympia-Chehalis:
This is a traditional trouble spot, with traffic for Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle converging.

The DOT predicts the most congested times there will be: Friday, northbound 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; southbound 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Sunday, the worst traffic is expected northbound noon to 7 p.m.; southbound from 1 to 6 p.m.

• Snoqualmie Pass:
Traffic will be heavy on eastbound I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. On Sunday, westbound traffic will be heavy from Cle Elum to North Bend over Snoqualmie Pass from noon to 9 p.m.

• Stevens Pass:
The heaviest traffic on US 2 over Stevens Pass is expected westbound on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

• US 101:
If you're driving on the Olympic Peninsula on US 101, July Fourth parades will close the highway on Saturday in Forks and Port Angeles; detours will be signposted. The Forks parade goes from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Port Angeles parade is from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

• Border crossings:
Expect delays at the U.S.-Canada border, especially at the Peace Arch crossing at Blaine where reconstruction of the U.S. inspection station has reduced the number of lanes. Friday and Sunday afternoons, plus Sunday evening, will be particularly busy. Get real-time border-delay and more information at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/border/

Stricter ID requirements for crossing land/sea borders between the U.S. and Canada began June 1. Adults must have a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license or a "trusted traveler" card; get details at www.getyouhome.gov