Thanksgiving weekend travel charts - I-5 Lacey to Tacoma

Thanksgiving weekend travel charts showing when I-5 Lacey to Tacoma is expected to be the most congested to help plan your travel.

Reading the charts

The colors

WSDOT traffic analysts looked at how many cars were on the road past Thanksgiving weekends. Based on this historical data, the graphs shows how many cars (vertical axis) we project to be on the road each hour (horizontal axis) for Thanksgiving weekend 2023. As the graphs turn from green to yellow, drivers can expect some congestion. During the red hours, traffic analysts predict travel will reach roadway capacity. Once a roadway reaches capacity, any small incident can cause significant backups.

The black line

The black line running from left to right shows typical traffic. This gives drivers more information on how the Thanksgiving 2023 holiday weekend travel may relate to a typical weekend.

Northbound

Wednesday, November 22

A travel chart for Nov. 22, 2023 on I-5 NB between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 6am to 5pm.

Thursday, November 23

A travel chart for thanksgiving day 2023 on Northbound I5 between Lacey and Tacoma. It shows traffic highs between 10am and 1 pm and at 7 pm.

Friday, November 24

A travel chart for Nov. 24, 2023 on I-5 Northbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 10am to 5pm.

Saturday, November 25

A travel chart for Nov. 25, 2023 on I-5 Northbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 10am to 5pm.

Sunday, November 26

A travel chart for Nov. 26, 2023 on I-5 Northbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 10am to 5pm.

Monday, November 27

A travel chart for Nov. 27, 2023 on I-5 Northbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 5 am and 9 am and between noon and 3 pm.

 

Southbound

Wednesday, November 22

A travel chart for Nov. 22, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 9am to 7pm.

Thursday, November 23

A travel chart for Nov. 22, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 9am to 2pm.

Friday, November 24

A travel chart for Nov. 24, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 9am to 3pm.

Saturday, November 25

A travel chart for Nov. 25, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 10am to 4pm.

Sunday, November 26

A travel chart for Nov. 26, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 11am to 3pm.

Monday, November 27

A travel chart for Nov. 27, 2023 on I-5 Southbound between Lacey and Tacoma showing a traffic high between 11am to 5pm.

Slow down – lives are on the line. 

In 2023, speeding continued to be a top reason for work zone crashes.

Even one life lost is too many.

Fatal work zone crashes doubled in 2023 - Washington had 10 fatal work zone crashes on state roads.

It's in EVERYONE’S best interest.

95% of people hurt in work zones are drivers, their passengers or passing pedestrians, not just our road crews.