Artists rendition of SR 520 with
electronic tolling technology.
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- WSDOT encourages innovation, provides incentives for timely completion - WSDOT could begin SR 520 bridge tolling as early as November 2010 but no later than June 2011.
- The Federal Highway Administration agreed that SR 520 electronic tolling would not have harmful affects on the environment as acknowledged in the recently released finding of no significant impact (FONSI) (pdf 54 KB).
- Get Good To Go! electronic tolling.
Tolling on SR 520
Sometime between late 2010 and early 2011, the Washington State Department of Transportation will begin tolling on SR 520. The 520 corridor will use all-electronic tolling, meaning that there will be no toll booths at all. Drivers on 520 will be able to cross without stopping to pay, allowing more traffic to flow at normal highway speeds. This project is part of the Lake Washington Urban Partnership, a collaborative effort between WSDOT, King County, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to explore innovative ways to help manage congestion on SR 520.
All-Electronic Tolling eliminates:
- congestion caused by toll booths — no need for traffic to stop or exit the roadway as tolls are collected at normal highway speeds for smooth-flowing traffic;
- toll booth related accidents — greatly decreases safety issues related to stop and go traffic;
- need for additional costly right of way in this congested corridor — at least $100 to $200 million to install a toll plaza;
- costly cash collection — handling cash is expensive and susceptible to theft;
- delays in tolling commencement — toll booths would require new environmental assessments, right-of-way acquisition, equipment procurement, and construction of toll plaza.
Why tolls?
In May 2009, Gov. Gregoire signed ESHB 2211 (pdf 50 KB), which authorizes tolling on the SR 520 bridge beginning in 2010. Tolling the SR 520 bridge next year allows WSDOT to secure revenue in order to begin pontoon construction in 2010, which is critical to replacing the SR 520 bridge by 2016.
Tolls on 520 will help pay for the new 520 bridge scheduled to open in 2016. When the corridor is complete, it will include six lanes, with two general-purpose lanes and one carpool lane in each direction, spanning Lake Washington from I-5 in Seattle to just west of I-405 in Bellevue. Designed to withstand major earthquakes and windstorms up to 95 mph, the new 520 will have carpool lanes and increased transit service that will make bus trips more frequent and reliable. It also will have space for walking or riding a bike across the lake, shoulder lanes to keep traffic flowing when something goes wrong, and new interchanges to reduce traffic impacts and improve communities near the corridor.
Previous tolling legislation includes House Bill 1773, which set statewide guidelines for the implementation and use of tolls on state highways, and House Bill 3096, which created a Tolling Implementation Committee to work with the public to evaluate a variety of tolling scenarios.
The Tolling Implementation Committee evaluated tolling for financing the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program, engaged citizens and regional leadership in the evaluation, and enhanced understanding of tolling alternatives. The committee hosted a series of public outreach events and input opportunities related to tolling in the SR 520 corridor during summer 2008, and reported to the Governor and Legislature in January, 2009.