With the recent rain and subsequent flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley, it brings to mind an aspect of home buying that isn’t mentioned very often – the traffic patterns and commute.

Duvall, Washington, has had only one road open in and out of town twice in the last few weeks.  All of the commute traffic to Duvall had to go on one road, the Woodinville-Duvall Road.  Usually there are three major roads to the town – State Route 203, Woodinville-Duvall Road and 124th Ave.

124th is often closed because of flooding.  This means that all of the traffic from the Eastside in to Duvall must travel on one road – the Woodinville-Duvall Road.  Traffic is literally backed up for miles.  What is usually a five-minute commute becomes a 30- to 40-minute commute.

If your commute (e.g. to work) is important to you, then you should consider the routes you will be taking when considering the location of a potential home.  Sometimes it doesn’t need to be a major road that is closed – sometimes a low dip in the road can create “water over the roadway” that can’t be crossed.  To take an alternate route may add a significant amount of time to the commute. 

(The picture is of a road under a railroad track bridge.  When it is flooded, to get to property on the other side takes 20 to 30 minutes and many miles.  It usually takes only 1 to 2 minutes.)

How do you know if there are traffic concerns on the roads near a potential house?  Ask the neighbors.  Neighbors are a great source of information about a specific area.

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