Date:  Friday, January 22, 2010

Contact: Denise Cieri, Eastside Corridor Deputy Project Director, 425-456-8509 Amy Danberg, Eastside Corridor Communications, 206-962-9635 (cell)

Community leaders support a phased approach to implementing express toll lanes on I-405 and SR 167

BELLEVUE – The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) delivered the final Eastside Corridor Tolling Study report to Governor Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature today. The final report, in response to Senate bill 5352, details the traffic and revenue findings for the addition of an express toll lane system on I-405 and SR 167.

The report is available to the public at www.wsdot.wa.gov/tolling/eastsidecorridor/report

“This report is the culmination of extensive coordination and input from thousands of involved citizens, 12 cities, five agencies, three counties, and numerous elected officials along a 50-mile corridor,” said Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation. “Express toll lanes can reduce congestion in the corridor while providing drivers a choice for a more reliable trip.”

WSDOT engaged and worked with an Executive Advisory Group (EAG) of corridor mayors and other elected officials, an Interagency Working Group (IWG) of city, county and transit agency staff, and the public to review the possibility of an express toll system from Lynnwood to Puyallup that would:

• Convert the existing I-405 HOV lane and build a new lane for a two lane express toll system
  
• Connect I-405 express toll lanes with the existing SR 167 high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes that would create a seamless “expressway within a freeway”

At the final meetings in December, the IWG and EAG agreed that WSDOT should develop a managed lane system, in keeping with the approved I-405 Master Plan, with congestion management as the first priority. The committees further recommended that WSDOT move forward with implementing a system in phases starting with the Bellevue to Lynnwood portion of I-405. If approved by the Legislature, WSDOT could build the Bellevue to Lynnwood portion with existing corridor funds and gain further traffic and revenue experience with toll lane projects.

The entire Eastside Corridor is more than 50 miles long, connecting I-405 to SR 167 and SR 512. It is one of two north-south corridors in the Puget Sound Region, expected to serve 1.5 million daily trips by 2030.

More information about the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study is online at www.wsdot.wa.gov/tolling/eastsidecorridor

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