Date:  Friday, December 16, 2011

Contact:
Victoria Tobin, WSDOT Communications, 206-464-1184 (Seattle)
Patty Michaud, WSDOT Communications, 206-716-1133 (Seattle)

Tolling on SR 520 bridge begins Dec. 29

SEATTLE – Come Monday morning drivers will have another indication that State Route 520 tolling is just around corner — signs that indicate the bridge is tolled.

At 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, crews will start uncovering and installing more than 40 signs along SR 520, Interstate 5 and Interstate 405, as well as city streets leading to SR 520. Crews need more than a week to safely uncover and install signs before tolling commences at 5 a.m. on Dec. 29.

“These signs are another important reminder that SR 520 bridge tolls start Dec. 29,” said Toll Division Director Craig Stone of the Washington State Department of Transportation. “If you drive SR 520 once a month or more, now is the time to get your Good To Go! pass. If you already have a pass, remember to visit WSDOT’s Good To Go! online page to activate it.”

Initial work to install many of the signs occurred earlier this year, but the signs have remained covered ever since. These signs let drivers know they are approaching a tolled bridge and the last exit before passing through the toll zone. Despite the gradually increasing presence of these signs, drivers will not be charged a toll on the SR 520 bridge until Dec. 29. Electronic variable message signs will remind drivers that tolling commences on Dec. 29.

Drivers can expect nighttime lane and ramp closures on SR 520, I-5 and I-405, as well as city streets that access SR 520 until Dec. 29. Get the latest closure information and construction updates at www.wsdot.wa.gov/northwest/king/construction.

How to get ready:

• Purchase a Good To Go! pass and install and activate it before tolling starts.
• Update existing account information, including credit card or bank information.
  Make sure license plate(s) are correctly listed on the account.
• Where to get a pass and open an account: 
  Buy any of the five pass options online at www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo.
• Purchase the popular $5 sticker pass at participating stores: Costco, Safeway, Fred Meyer and QFC. Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo/retail for a list of retail locations. 
  Visit a service customer service center or a mobile customer service station. Find locations and hours online at www.wsdot.wa.gov/GoodToGo/contacts.htm.

About tolling on the SR 520 bridge

Tolling on SR 520 is expected to raise $1 billion overall toward the $4.65 billion SR 520 bridge replacement and HOV program, which builds 12.8 miles of safety and mobility improvements from Interstate 5 in Seattle to SR 202 in Redmond. The existing SR 520 floating bridge opened to traffic in 1963, and is vulnerable to sinking during a severe storm after weathering decades of wind and waves. The new bridge will better withstand storms and move more people across the lake with a new transit/HOV lane for buses and carpools in each direction. The target date to open the new bridge to traffic is December 2014.

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