Date:  Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Contact: Colleen Gants, Eastside Corridor Communications, 206-465-2311(Bellevue) Todd Merkens, WSDOT Toll Division, 206-716-1151 (Seattle)

BELLEVUE – Five national tolling experts begin their review this week of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) proposal to improve congestion with express toll lanes on Interstate 405 and State Route 167.

On Wednesday, Washington’s Deputy Secretary of Transportation Dave Dye welcomes the panelists to the first meeting, where they’ll discuss WSDOT’s Eastside Corridor Tolling Study and how it fits within regional, state and national express toll lane policy.

WSDOT will hold two additional meetings in October and November. Those meetings will focus on the methodology, phasing and financing in the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study. The expert review panel will publish a final report in December.

Eastside Corridor Tolling Study Expert Review Panel Meeting 1

Where: South Bellevue Community Center
             14509 SE Newport Way 
             Bellevue, WA 98009

When: Wednesday, Sept. 8, 9–11 a.m.

Agenda: The meeting agenda includes introductory comments from Deputy Transportation Secretary Dye, background information on the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study and a discussion between elected officials and the panel members on express toll lane policy. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and provide brief comments to the group.

Panel participants represent five different areas of transportation expertise, including academics, policy, planning, operations and financing. Panel members include:

• Academic: Ginger Goodin from the Texas Transportation Institute of the Texas A&M University System
• Transportation Policy: Robert Poole, independent transportation consultant
• Transportation Planning: Chuck Fuhs with Parson Brinckerhoff in Houston
• Express Toll Operations: Jennifer Tsien, working with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise
• Financing: Janet Lee of Public Resource Advisory Group

More information about the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study and a link to a video about how express toll lanes work can be found on-line at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/tolling/eastsidecorridor.

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