Look Out, Seattle Drivers: Obama Motorcade Ahead

Get ready for what could be another epic evening commute, Seattle. President Barack Obama will be in town Friday for a campaign fundraiser for Sen. Patty Murray.

That will mean traffic slowdowns in the city as his motorcade moves around. Seattle transportation department spokesman Norm Mah said you should give yourself extra time.

"Once the presidential motorcade comes into the city, there are certain roads that will have kind of rolling closures ... to allow access to the locations that the president is going to and from," Mah said.

And sorry, we can’t tell you just which roads will be most impacted -- the president's route is not disclosed because of security reasons.

But we do know Air Force One will land at Boeing Field and Obama will be downtown this afternoon and evening for events at the Westin hotel. The Seattle Police Department said to expect "intermittent closures of freeways and arterials and downtown streets." (See map below.)

Per the United States Secret Service, vehicle access to the area bounded by Olive St., 7th Ave, Lenora St and 4th Ave will be limited to 5th Avenue between Lenora and Virginia and on Stewart between 6th and 7th Avenue. Commuters are encouraged to use transit or park outside the area and walk in. People entering the area should expect delays and additional security screening.

Riding the bus? King County Metro says buses that use Stewart and Virginia streets will be rerouted. Sound Transit's rerouted bus lines are here and Community Transit's are here.

Obama will be coming to Seattle after meeting with families of victims in the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. After the attack last week the president made an impassioned appeal for new controls on guns.

Photo: Presidential motorcade by Gage Skidmore on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)