Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s transportation issues to explore the policies and politics that determine how we get around and how billions of dollars in public money are spent.

A few months into the state’s big Ship Canal Bridge repave, the original shock has eased somewhat, as morning commuters adapt their schedules and driving habits to cope with fewer lanes on Interstate 5.

However, the southbound drives from Lynnwood to Lake Union remain an exasperating 56 minutes, on average, on Tuesdays through Thursdays. That’s eight minutes less than when the bridge project began Jan.…