Central Puget Sound Interstate 405 - Commute times
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Commute times for I-405 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-405 between Bellevue and Everett, Bellevue and Lynnwood, and Tukwila 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 of the morning or evening commute would have to allow for their trip in order 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-405 corridor is served by transit buses, HOV lanes and, between Bellevue and Lynnwood, by Express Toll Lanes (ETLs). For detailed information about the I-405 ETLs, refer to I-405 Express Toll Lanes Between Bellevue and Lynnwood | WSDOT (wa.gov)
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, travel times continued to increase due to ongoing recovery of traffic volume in the wake of COVID-19.
The 13-mile trip from Tukwila to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak morning commute took an average of 38 minutes, which was:
- 25 minutes more than traveling this route at the posted speed limit, and
- 14 minutes below the reliable travel time of 52 minutes.
The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 21 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 31 minutes).
The 23-mile trip from Bellevue to Everett in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak evening commute took an average of 42 minutes, which was:
- 19 minutes more than traveling this route at the posted speed limit, and
- 17 minutes below the reliable travel time of 59 minutes.
The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 29 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 37 minutes).
In 2022, travel times continued to increase due to ongoing recovery of traffic volume in the wake of COVID-19. The 13-mile trip from Tukwila to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak morning commute took an average of 37 minutes. This was almost three times the 13 minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 15 minutes below the reliable travel time of 52 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 21 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 31 minutes).
The 23-mile trip from Bellevue to Everett in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak evening commute took an average of 37 minutes. This was 14 minutes longer than it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 16 minutes below the reliable travel time of 53 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 27 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 34 minutes).
In 2021, travel times worsened compared to 2020, but were still better than the pre-pandemic levels. The 13-mile trip from Tukwila to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak morning commute took an average of 31 minutes—more than two times the 13 minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 17 minutes below the reliable travel time of 48 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 17 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 25 minutes).
The 23-mile trip from Bellevue to Everett in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak evening commute took an average of 35 minutes—12 minutes longer than it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 13 minutes below the reliable travel time of 48 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 26 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 31 minutes).
In 2020, due to the statewide response to COVID-19 there was significant decrease on both GP lanes and HOV compared to 2019. The 13-mile trip from Tukwila to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak morning commute took an average of 25 minutes—almost double the 13 minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 25 minutes below the reliable travel time of 50 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 16 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 26 minutes).
Similarly, the 23-mile trip from Bellevue to Everett in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak evening commute took an average of 31 minutes—8 minutes longer than it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 20 minutes below the reliable travel time of 51 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 25 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 29 minutes).
In 2019, the 13-mile trip from Tukwila to Bellevue in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak morning commute took an average of 43 minutes—more than three times the 13 minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 19 minutes below the reliable travel time of 62 minutes. In contrast, the average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 20 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 30 minutes), and the average travel time via transit was 28 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 38 minutes).
Similarly, the 23-mile trip from Bellevue to Everett in the GP lanes on I-405 during the peak evening commute took an average of 46 minutes—twice the 23 minutes it would have taken to travel the same route at the posted speed limit, and 17 minutes below the reliable travel time of 63 minutes. The average travel time for the same commute in the HOV lane was 30 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 41 minutes), and the average travel time via transit was 84 minutes (with a reliable travel time of 100 minutes).