Drivers may still be in the throes of the I-5 construction mess, but it's not too soon to start thinking about traffic strategies for the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend.

For ferry travelers, the state ferry system expects the heaviest backups and overloading on Puget Sound routes between 3 and 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, on westbound routes. Return traffic is likely to be heaviest the following Sunday afternoon (Sept. 2), and morning and evening sailings on Labor Day, which is Monday, Sept. 3, as people are returning home.

You should plan to arrive at the terminal a bit earlier than usual, and be prepared for a wait.

For the Labor Day holiday itself, the Anacortes/San Juan Islands, Port Townsend/Keystone, Mukilteo/Clinton, Edmonds/Kingston, and Seattle/Bremerton runs will all be on regular weekday schedules.

Seattle/Bainbridge runs, and Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth and Point Defiance/Tahlequah runs will be on holiday schedules. There will be no Seattle/Vashon passenger ferry service on Labor Day.