WSDOT: Plan ahead for weekend and holiday travel

Special events to note for the weekend

Basketball? Football? Sports not your thing, but you plan to do some Thanksgiving shopping? Whatever your plans, be sure to take note of some big events that could impact your travel routes.

• Friday, Nov. 21 – UW Huskies vs. Seattle U, KeyArena, 7 p.m. 
• Saturday, Nov. 22 – UW Huskies vs. Oregon State, Husky Stadium, 7:30 p.m. 
• Sunday, Nov. 23 – Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals, CenturyLink Field, 1:05 p.m.

Plan ahead for holiday travels

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year. Whether you’re heading out of town for a feast, hosting at your place or heading to the malls for shopping, you’ll want to plan your trip in advance.

Early next week, the WSDOT website will have holiday travel charts that show the best – and worst – times to be traveling. For a preview, check out the 2013 Thanksgiving travel tips.

If your plans include mountain travel, you’ll want to check conditions before you go. If your travels take you across the Cascades, be prepared and carry traction devices. Based on the lack of snow on the North Cascades Highway on Thursday, Nov. 20, it could be open for holiday travels. But keep an eye on the weather; a couple of big storms could change that in a hurry and you may have to go home over one of the other passes.

Finally, to help keep traffic moving, they’ll wrap up all of their highway work at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 26, through the holiday weekend.