Politics & Government
WSDOT Announces I-90 Tolling Evironmental Study Hearings
WSDOT officials will hold one of three public meetings on tolling at Mercer Island High School on Oct. 21, 4:30 - 8:30 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced Tuesday that the public scoping process for the now required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will run from October 7 to November 6.
The State Legislature directed WSDOT in 2012 to review possibilities of tolling Interstate 90 at some point in the future to help them pay for completing the replacement of the SR 520 Floating Bridge — freeways which they view as directly linked as a "crosslake corridor". Legislators could possibly approve a tolling plan no sooner than 2015.
Mercer Island City Council is unanimously opposed to tolling, but individual council members have expressed dissatisfaction with the city's current strategy to block the state from imposing it.
An earlier public forum on a WSDOT environmental study in Jan. 2013 was organized in an "Open House" setting, rather than as an open forum open to all speakers — drawing ire from dozens of local residents who attended the presentation and shouted out questions anyways.
Public meetings are planned as follows:
- Bellevue: Thursday, October 10, 4-7 pm, Bellevue College
- Mercer Island: Monday, October 21, 4:30 -8:30 pm, Mercer Island High School
- Seattle: Wednesday, October 23, 4-7 pm, African American Museum
Additional information is available on the WSDOT website at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/crosslakewatolling/
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