SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has released its Christmas weekend travel forecast for this year ahead of what are expected to be very congested roads and highways across Washington.
When the holiday falls on a weekend, like Christmas, WSDOT said roads across the entire state see higher than usual traffic. One route that is especially impacted is Interstate 90, which runs across Snoqualmie Pass and stretches through almost the entire state from Seattle to Spokane.
Snoqualmie Pass
Eastbound traffic on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass is expected to be above average but not reach stop-and-go status Thursday through Saturday.
On Dec. 26, eastbound drivers should avoid the stretch of road from 11 a.m. to about 1 p.m. to avoid the worst congestion.
Westbound traffic over Snoqualmie Pass looks about the same until Sunday, Dec. 26, when stop-and-go traffic is expected to choke I-90 from about noon to 5 p.m.
Here is the expected congestion over the pass for the weekend by day. The black line running from left to right shows traffic on any typical weekend.
Here are the expected periods of traffic congestion headed westbound.
Expected westbound traffic over Christmas weekend
Here are the expected periods of traffic congestion headed eastbound.
Expected traffic congestion on Snoqualmie Pass headed eastbound over Christmas weekend
People traveling on I-90, Snoqualmie Pass can now receive text alerts for pass delays of 30 minutes or longer.
Here are the steps on how to sign up for text alerts:
- Click this link
- Select “SMS/Text Message” as your subscription type
- Enter your cell phone number
- Confirm your number and enter an optional password
- Select the topic: I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Travel Alerts
Or just send a text to sign up:
- Send a text message to the number 468311 with the words “wsdot snoqualmie”
- To unsubscribe, send a text message to the same number with the words “wsdot stop”
They also post updates on their Twitter accounts.