Seattle weekend traffic expected to slow over Taylor Swift tour

SEATTLE - Seattle’s notorious traffic jams are about to get even more gummed up with the arrival of Taylor Swift's sold-out world tour.

The concert comes as Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) puts on an encore performance of the SR-520 Floating Bridge closure that clogged travel all weekend.

The Eras Tour concert alone will bring almost 70,000 people to Lumen Field. Not only is Swift coming to town, Seattle is also hosting the Toronto Blue Jays. This is on top of several large local summer events happening.

Understand that you are going to run into congestion wherever you go—however, you can make it easier on yourself by mapping out your route before you even leave your home.

"I think I'm prepared, but we'll see," said Greta Finholm, who told FOX 13 News she is attending Swift's Saturday concert date in Seattle. 

"We're going to try and avoid Uber for sure, because that's going to be either impossible or very expensive," said Ari Nordhagen, also attending the Saturday concert.

The work week is just getting started, though, Swift fans are already drafting their plan of attack for this weekend.

"I have her tour on my TikTok feed, so I have seen a little glimpse of how busy it is," Finholm said.

"This is a little bit more nerve-wracking, just because I feel like there are other events going on in Seattle other than the Taylor Swift concert," Nordhagen said.

Seattle is no stranger to major, high-traffic events. The city just wrapped MLB All-Star week.

This weekend, however, there are a few traffic factors that could add to the chaos.

A monster closure starts Friday night when the SR-520 Floating Bridge is closed for work again. It is a major connection for Eastsiders trying to head to Seattle.

"You'll have to plan to drive around the lake or head over to I-90, understanding that a lot of people are going to be doing the exact same thing.," said Marcus Humberg with WSDOT.

Montlake Boulevard will also close down between East Hamlin and East Louisa for construction, further adding to more bottlenecks on the roadways.

FOX 13 spoke with Swift fan Glenn Hartman, who attended an Eras Tour concert in Denver and has seen the concert mayhem up close. Hartman said they can't recommend public transportation enough for this event.

"I felt, as least for Denver, public transportation was the better option to try and get away from the stadium," Hartman said. "That way you're not paying for expensive parking and not necessarily dealing with the traffic that comes with that."

In Seattle, Sound Transit will be adding to the schedule to make sure everyone can get around.

"Light Rail will be running later than usual to accommodate extra passengers, the fans who are leaving the concert," said Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher. "We'll have a special event train on Saturday for the Taylor Swift concert."

That special event train will come from Lakewood and Everett and leaves 35 minutes after the concert ends. Trains will be running until about 1:40 a.m.

If you're considering driving to the venue, know ahead of time where you'll park. Lumen Field's garage is already sold out.

You can purchase resale parking spots. But, looking at sites like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats, you're looking to shell out more than $100 for a space.

"We already spent a lot of money on tickets," Nordhagen said. "We don't want to spend a lot of money on parking."

Ridesharing is also an option, but fans should be aware of surge pricing. You may have experienced this on holidays like New Year, when you'll pay much more than the base rate.