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Multimodal mobility dashboard - South Puget Sound region

Region executive summary

This dashboard provides a detailed multimodal mobility analysis of the Interstate 5 (I-5) corridor between Federal Way and Olympia in the south Puget Sound region. The peak periods for the I-5 corridor in this region are 5 - 10 a.m. and 2 - 8 p.m.

2024 Highlights
  • In 2024, the average daily person miles traveled increased due to the continued recovery of traffic volume across the state in the wake of COVID-19. Approximately 1.70 million person miles were traveled on the I-5 corridor in the south Puget Sound region in 2023, up 1.4% from 1.67 million person miles in 2023.
  • Vehicle delay increased 41.7% from 0.77 million hours in 2023 to 1.09 million hours in 2024, due to construction in the area
  • In 2024, buses moved up to 4.3 % of travelers compared to 2023, where buses moved up to 3.7% of travelers during weekday commutes
  • Park and ride lots in this corridor had an average utilization rate of 36.4% in 2024 compared to 37.3% in 2023


South puget sound region map image

Source: WSDOT Transportation Safety and Systems Analysis Division and WSDOT TRACFLOW (https://tracflow.wsdot.wa.gov/)

Interstate 5

Interstate 5 is the primary commute and economic corridor connecting the central and south Puget Sound regions. WSDOT classifies the I-5 corridor between Olympia and Federal Way as a T-1 freight corridor, meaning that trucks carry more than 10 million tons of freight on this corridor annually. This corridor is served by transit buses and by high occupancy vehicle lanes between Federal Way and Tacoma. It is also paralleled by the Amtrak Cascades passenger rail line. Click the green bar below for more information on Interstate 5 multimodal mobility analysis.



I-5 map image

Multi-year trends

General purpose lane person miles traveled and vehicle delay:

Due to historic decreases in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, analysis here is compared to 2019 to provide a better perspective on whether trends are returning to normal. (Unless otherwise noted travel is measured in general purpose lanes).

  • There were 1.70 million person miles traveled in 2024, which was 5.6% higher than the 1.61 million in 2019
  • Vehicle delay increased by 47.2% from 1.61 million hours of annual vehicle delay in 2019 to 2.37 million hours in 2024. There was significant delay in 2024 due to construction in the area.
  • Peak morning and evening commute times continued to increase in 2024 and even surpassed 2019 commute times in some locations
  • Severe congestion continued to increase in 2024, and was still lower on most routes than pre-pandemic levels
  • In 2024, throughput productivity improved in 2024 for most monitored areas compared to 2019
  • Buses in 2024 moved up to 3.4% of travelers compared to 2019, where buses moved up to 9.4% of travelers during weekday commutes
  • Park and ride lot usage in 2024 averaged 36.4% compared to 83.9% in 2019

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