I take it you haven't driven 405 through downtown Bellevue in a while? (or for that matter 405 northbound for the reverse trip...) It's gotten really nasty from

I take it you haven't driven 405 through downtown Bellevue in a while? (or for that matter 405 northbound for the reverse trip...) It's gotten really nasty from my experience. 520 eastbound has mostly not been bad since ramp metering started, and even better since tolling started. Westbound is a bit of a different thing, though my impression is that it clears up much earlier now than it used to.