Central Puget Sound Interstate 90 - Commute times
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Commute times for I-90 in the central Puget Sound region
Commute times
This page displays average (mean) and reliable (95th percentile) morning and evening peak commute times for weekday trips on I-90 between Seattle and Issaquah, and Issaquah and Bellevue.
The average peak commute times indicate how long it took, on average, to make that trip during the worst part of the morning (or evening) commute in a given year. The reliable peak commute time shows how much time someone traveling during the worst part of the morning or evening commute must allow for their trip to arrive at their destination on time on 19 out of 20 days. For details on the methodology used to calculate commute times, refer to WSDOT's
Handbook for Corridor Capacity Evaluation (PDF 5.9MB)
Highway capacity constraints vary based on the presence of managed lanes and multimodal travel options; the I-90 corridor is served by transit buses and HOV lanes.
Sources: WSDOT Transportation Safety and Systems Analysis Division and WSDOT TRACFLOW (https://tracflow.wsdot.wa.gov/)
Note: Commute times are rounded to the nearest minute. GP and HOV commutes include only the freeway section, while transit includes the freeway section and city surface streets. In addition, the transit commute time is influenced by the number of scheduled stop and their times.
Performance highlights
In 2023, commute times slightly worsened compared to 2022, but were still better than the pre-pandemic levels.
The nine-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 12 minutes, which was:
- Three minutes more than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and
- Four minutes below the reliable travel time of 16 minutes.
The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 11 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 13 minutes).
The nine-mile trip from Bellevue to Issaquah in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak evening commute took an average of 16 minutes, which was:
- Seven minutes more than traveling this route at the posted speed limit, and
- Five minutes below the reliable travel time of 21 minutes.
The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 16 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 21 minutes).
In 2022, commute times slightly worsened compared to 2021, but were still better than the pre-pandemic levels. The nine-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 12 minutes—three minutes more than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and four minutes below the reliable travel time of 16 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 11 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 13 minutes).
In 2021, commute times in some commte routes slightly worsened compared to 2020, due to the recovery on traffic volume, but were still better than the prepandemic levels. The nine-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 11 minutes—two minutes more than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and four minutes below the reliable travel time of 15 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 11 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 13 minutes).
In 2020, due to the statewide response to COVID-19 there was significant decrease in commute times on both GP and HOV lanes compared to previous years. The nine-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 11 minutes—two minutes more than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and eight minutes below the reliable travel time of 19 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 11 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 14 minutes).
In 2019, the nine-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 17 minutes—almost two times than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 9 minutes below the reliable travel time of 26 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 13 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 15 minutes). The average travel time to make this trip by transit was 39 minutes, with a reliable travel time of 51 minutes.
In 2018, the 10-mile trip from Issaquah to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-90 during the peak morning commute took an average of 17 minutes—eight minutes more time than the nine minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and seven minutes below the reliable travel time of 24 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 13 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 15 minutes).