TRAFFIC ALERT UPDATE: SB 99 finally back to 2 lanes

4:28 PM: Thanks for the tips. One lane is still blocked on southbound Highway 99 near Atlantic, and that’s making the sluggish-at-best homeward commute worse than usual right now. A police car is behind the blocking vehicle, no tow truck in sight so far. If you have a desktop/laptop/landscape-view tablet and want to check before you go, the city’s Travelers Info Map has live video if you choose downtown and then Alaskan Way/Atlantic.

4:58 PM: Still no tow truck, and that area is still down to one lane as a result.

5:03 PM: Good news – the live video feed shows the tow truck just arrived.

5:20 PM: The tow truck has JUST left with the car, and the highway is back to 2 lanes at that spot.

13 Replies to "TRAFFIC ALERT UPDATE: SB 99 finally back to 2 lanes"

  • bolo August 19, 2016 (4:58 pm)

    Thank You! WSB.
    BTW, that Travelers Info Map user interface is quite horrible, isn’t it?

    • WSB August 19, 2016 (5:06 pm)

      It is, unfortunately. I would *love* to be able to directly link to some of those video feeds, maybe even to embed them, but it’s impossible. The one good thing they’ve done is extend the amount of time you can watch “live” … now it’s up to five minutes.

  • Sam-c August 19, 2016 (5:37 pm)

    Wow, unbelievable that it took so long for tow truck to show up.  That incident was there at 3:20ish,   As i heard about it on radio and then drove by going northbound on 99.     Elected to take I-5 back and was still a slog..1 hour back from zoo.

  • Denise August 19, 2016 (6:08 pm)

    One car all this??? HORRIBLE!! Thankyou mr mayor for ruining my life this summer. It worse and worse with each passing month? What is your plan????

  • Denise August 19, 2016 (6:13 pm)

    One car all this??? HORRIBLE!! all streets around Seattle center grid locked. 20 min 2 blocks

  • JayDee August 19, 2016 (6:27 pm)

    Only 50+ minutes to get home on the 56…rather than 23.  Drivers in downtown “blocked” the box, and added to the gridlock. I am glad I was not on 2nd Ave Southbound.

  • Eddie August 19, 2016 (7:42 pm)

    Two hours and 7 minutes to drive from Shilshole/Ballard to the Junction, 12 miles. Ridiculous.

  • Chuck Jacobs August 19, 2016 (9:07 pm)

    Wait a minute… I was told that reducing two lanes to one results in much safety with minimal impacts on commute time. Hmmmmm…

    • Rick August 20, 2016 (11:54 am)

      You’re the guy I want to talk to about that bridge I have for sale.

  • canton August 19, 2016 (10:13 pm)

    We used to have shoulder lanes to pull over if there was a problem. We used to have police cars with bumpers to push those cars to the side. Everything is so cramped, no where to go. 1 problem on the road now, total chaos.

  • Diane August 20, 2016 (11:21 am)

    sure wish this notice had gone up earlier (if I had known, I
    would have just gone to a coffee shop on QA for couple hours, in the AC); I
    left my job on Magnolia at 3:45 and we were strategizing best way for me to
    drive home to avoid Hempfest traffic on Elliott; got out waze, but all it
    showed was longer time on Elliott; turned out Elliott/15th was backed up half
    way to Ballard; so I went up over QA to catch 99 just north of Battery St
    tunnel; 99 also completely backed up; it took 2 HOURS to drive back to WS;
    insane, and in the heat; and to finally see (in person, yes drove by this car/tow
    truck after 2 hours, and beyond that the drive was totally clear) that it was
    one stupid broken down car waiting for a tow truck on the 99 just south of
    Pioneer Square causing all this, backing up THOUSANDS of cars for HOURS; our
    city is total FAIL at transportation; sure we have lots of jobs now, but how in
    the hell are people supposed to get there and back?

  • RayWest August 20, 2016 (1:10 pm)

    I left the U-District just before 3:00 pm. Traffic was already backed up on Hwy 99. I did not get home until almost 5:30 pm. Went past the vehicle and police car and was shocked to discover that this was just a stalled car incident and not a major crash. Totally insane for this mess not to have been cleared up much sooner. I want to hear the city’s explanation for why a major roadway at rush-hour was not given top priority to clear up.

  • KT August 20, 2016 (7:50 pm)

    99 S/B was backed up to the zoo.  Seattle really has to look at who they have for a contract towing company.  They are underperforming to put it mildly.  Hey, maybe Mayor Eddie can appoint a new task force then change his mind.  

Sorry, comment time is over.