Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that Seattle is currently playing host to Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's staying at the Westin Hotel in downtown and there's a two-block perimeter around the hotel closed to traffic. While that alone is probably enough to upset Seattle's painfully fragile traffic ecosystem, today it will likely be even worse as spans of I5 and other streets will be closed while he travels from Seattle to Everret, to Redmond and Tacoma, and back to Seattle.
For safety reasons, the Secret Service won't be giving much noticed as to when these closures will occur, but here's a rough idea:
Here's the (ballpark) schedule for the day. Could change but it at least gives you an idea. #ChinesePresident pic.twitter.com/dq6StDZDVa
— Alexis Smith (@AlexisKIRO7) September 23, 2015
All of this is a long way of saying that what was already promising to be a dicey trip to CenturyLink Field at rush hour might be even more insane. To illustrate the point, check out this exchange between Lamar Neagle and the Washington Department of Transportation.
@LamarNeagle How early does Sigi unlock the stadium? Because that would be a good time to be there.
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) September 23, 2015