Local

Hate paying tolls? More are in our future

The Express Toll Lanes on I-405, where drivers can bypass traffic for a price, have created a legion of toll haters.

"It seems like you're always getting taxed about something, and this is just one more tax," said Joy Ambrosia of Sammamish.

Anna McKee travels often to Seattle from the Eastside, which means she pays tolls on both I-405 and the State Route 520 Bridge.

"It's ridiculous. One time my bill was like 90 dollars," McKee said.

Chris Sullivan reports on traffic tie-ups every morning on KIRO Radio.

"It's the number one thing that gets people riled up when it comes to traffic," Sullivan said.

KIRO 7 checked plans for future projects and found if you don't have a Good to Go pass now, chances are you'll need one.

More tolls are coming.

Right now tolls are collected on SR520 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, HOT lanes on SR167 and the Express Toll Lanes on I-405 between Lynnwood and Bellevue.

The state is planning to extend those toll lanes on a widened 405 between Bellevue and Renton by the end of 2023, creating a 40-milestretch of optional tolls on the 405/167 corridor all the way to the Pierce County line.

The Legislature also intends for tolls to help pay for the Puget Sound Gateway Project, which state officials said will be built over the next 15 years.

One portion extends the SR167 freeway from Puyallup to the Port of Tacoma.

Another extends SR509 from the south end of Sea-Tac Airport to I-5 on the west hill of Kent.

The new SR99 tunnel will also be tolled when it opens beneath Downtown Seattle in a couple of years.

Future toll rates have not yet been decided.

There are a couple of reasons for tolls -- one is to raise money.

The State Route 99 tunnel and the Gateway project will be tolled to help pay for those roadways, just like SR520 and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, tolls to pay off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge are set to continue until 2032.

Tolls on SR520 are paying for 30- and 40-year bonds, and the Legislature will decide if tolls will continue after the bonds are paid.

But on I-405 and SR167, the state said the primary reason is to move traffic more efficiently by giving drivers the option of paying to escape traffic in the general purpose lanes and arrive on time.  

"Still people worry how long before it is I-90, how long before it is I-5," Sullivan said about future tolls.

Proposals to toll I-90 fell away when the Legislature approved funding to finish the SR520 corridor.

As for someday turning HOV lanes on I-5 into toll lanes, University of Washington transportation researcher Mark Hallenbeck predicts that idea won't get much traction.

"If 405 had gone really well, probably the odds would be higher. The fact that 405 did not go very well probably reduces the odds that I-5 will happen," Hallenbeck said.