Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Going from Sequim, WA to Seattle, WA

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MN Blue Skies

MN Blue Skies

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What is the best route to go from Sequim, Washington to Seattle, Washington. 

Is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge an option? Is it a white knuckle drive? 

Is it better to go the long way through Olympia?

We have a 35' fifth wheel that we pull with our 3500 RAM.  We will be traveling on July 19.
 
Taking US 101 through Olympia is a nice scenic drive if you're not in a hurry.  It's at least an hour longer than going over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and you'll be in metro traffic from Olympia north.  US101 is a two lane road until you get to Shelton, then it becomes freeway.

If you want to go via Tacoma Narrows, take WA104 across the Hood Canal floating bridge.  There's no toll.  Then take WA3 to WA16 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  The road is a 4 lane freeway south of Poulsbo, make sure you transition to WA16 at the Sinclair Inlet loop.

Since they completed the second span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge each direction is 4 lanes wide and the new (eastbound) span has wide shoulders, so there's no problem crossing it.

Tolls are eastbound only, be aware you have to exit the freeway on the right to go through the toll plaza as you approach the bridge. The through lanes are Fastpass only.  The tolls are reasonable at $3 an axle.  A two axle car or truck pays $6, a truck and trailer combination with 4 axles pays $12, a 5 axle combo pays $15,
 
If going to Seattle I would definitely take the Hood Canal floating bridge toward Bremerton and then toward Gig Harbor and the Narrows bridge. Traffic from Olympia northbound on the 5 can be a bitch. One other thing I would ask is where exactly in "Seattle" are you heading? If you are actually going anywhere north of Seattle I would consider taking the Kingston-Edmunds ferry rather than the round about way through Tacoma then Seattle.


Ferries aren't cheap but significantly less mileage which means much less fuel. If heading to I-90 take the Auburn exit off I-5 east toward Covington and Tiger Mountain.
 
Another option if time isn't an issue is to take the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey
Island.  This will put you on Hiway 20 to  5 then south to Seattle.  On the way you will
pass through Deception Pass State Park and cross Deception Pass bridge.  Traffic can
be an issue this time of year near the bridge but clears out once past it.  Fort Casey is
near the Whidbey ferry dock which is an interesting visit.  Also has a small campground.
 
We did that trip going west, it was a lot less aggravating than dealing with Seattle traffic. The only problem was we had to ride in the truck during the crossing which is against regulations, vehicles were packed in so tight we couldn't open the doors. ::) We enjoyed Whidbey Island and Port Townsend.
 
Thanks all for your input.  What happened is that the driver (DH) overruled the navigator (me) so we ended up going the long way on I-5 and as people pointed out the traffic was horrible.  Lucky for my DH that the extra 1 1/2 hours in Seattle traffic was worth it in order to spend several nights in a heavily wooded campground near Hoodsport and enjoy beautiful Lake Cushman and the Hood Canal.  ;) 
 
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