WSDOT: 520 Bridge Toll Still Slated for December Start

The State Route 520 Bridge still is slated to start electronic tolling later this month, a Washington State Department of Transportation official told Patch last week and an announcement was expected soon.

State Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond told the Bellevue Downtown Association Thursday morning that the date probaby would be announced early next week.

Spokeswoman Janet Matkin said there would be plenty of warning before the tolls are instated, but that the state and the vendor handling the tolling still are in the testing stages of the all-electronic payment system.

Testing issues with the tolling system have delayed the tolls, . It was pushed to, and then to , and then most recently to .

Instead of toll booths, the tolls will be paid through , which is a system that uses electronic transponders attached to vehicles to debit motorists' accounts. Vehicles that don't have the transponders will have photos taken of their license plate, adn then will be billed through the mail, Matkin said.

The toll schedule includes a $3.50-peak hour toll in both ways, but the toll will varies depending on the hour, so it will be less than that at non-peak hour times. Motorists without a Good to Go account will pay a $1.50 fee every time they cross the bridge, according to the state.

The toll is expected to rise 10 cents a year between 2012 and 2016, so drivers would be paying a peak hour toll of $3.90 by 2016.

Matkin said that motorists should obtain the Good to Go Pass before the tolls start, which should occur sometime in December.

Mercer Island residents can open a Good To Go! account in person at both the and grocery store locations in town (8421 SE 68th Street inside the and 7823 SE 28th Street in the Town Center).

Those who purchase passes in person can set them up with a customer service representative on-site, or go home and activate the account online or over the phone. If you would like to set up the account in person, you will need to supply your license plate number, vehicle make and model, and payment.

Prices on Good to Go! Passes vary between $5 and $12 (click here for a complete pricing list). Drivers who use the passes will save $1.50 each time they cross the bridge.

If you can’t make it to the mobile center, you can also buy a Good To Go! Pass at a variety of retail stores, online at www.GoodToGo520.org, or by calling 1-866-936-8246.

"We encourage people to do that now, because there will be a rush when the date is announced," she said.

The tolls will pay part of a $4.65 billion plan to improve SR 520.

The project will:

• Widen SR 520 and create carpool lanes in both directions.
• Widen the shoulders, so disabled vehicles will not block the lanes of traffic.
• Create three landscaped lids over SR 520, two with access to new transit stops.
• Add a bike and pedestrian lane to SR 520.
• Create environmental improvements, including improvements to streams and noise barriers.

Overall, the project is part of a $4.65 billion plan to improve SR 520. The state legislature decided that $2.37 billion of the amount will be paid through state and federal funding and tolls. The rest has yet to be determined.

—Information from Bellevue Patch and WSDOT