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520Bridge.jpg
If you want to see what tolls will do, just look at the 520 Bridge experiment. (WSDOT Photo)

What tolling the entire Puget Sound would look like

BY Chris Sullivan  on January 25, 2013 @ 6:52 am (Updated: 9:07 am - 1/25/13 )

The state is considering tolls on I-90 to help pay for the 520 Bridge project. The tunnel through downtown Seattle is going to be tolled. The Washington State Department of Transportation is also looking at requiring three people to use the HOV lane on I-405.

If you want to see what tolls will do, just look at the 520 Bridge experiment. A year into tolling, trips across the bridge are down 30 percent. That's 30,000 fewer trips on 520 each day.

More than 10 percent of those trips went to I-90. Some went to Highway 522. Others have gone into transit or vanpools.

Ted Trepanier is a traffic analyst with Kirkland traffic management firm Inrix. He also spent 26 years with the Department of Transportation. Trepanier said adding tolls on certain corridors simply moves traffic around, reducing congestion in one spot and adding it in another: system-wide. Drivers have no where to go. So they'll look to get out of their cars.

"If you go system-wide with those kind of shifts, opposed to one corridor, that means your overall congestion levels will go down," he said.

He said it's too soon to say whether the state will eventually have to toll I-5 to help manage the congestion caused by the toll on the new Alaskan Way tunnel.

But he says it's a possibility.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (33)


  • Add A Comment

  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Tolling of all the highways is a Democratic controlled
    January 25, 2013 8:08 am
    legislatures dream

    All that money to waste on more worthless projects and then they can still come back and say kids and old ladies will die unless we get more money.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • DJFavorite wrote...
    people take their cars because
    January 25, 2013 8:10 am
    most mass transit isn't in their areas. We have 1, ONE bus through our neighborhood. To go anywhere, you have to make at least 1 transfer and it takes twice as long to get there. I'd rather sit in traffic and get there in less time, than deal with the HUGE headache of mass transit. Believe me, I have been looking at this for 20 years, and still don't have a better option than driving myself. And I live in the city. I'm not out in like Maple Valley or North Bend. I live just outside the city limits of Renton.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    I have been told many times by my company
    January 25, 2013 8:19 am
    That I should take a bus or a HOV

    1st option bus, I would have to walk up to a mile, take the bus to downtown then transfer back on another bus to come back to my work. About 4 miles away.

    Option 2 HOV, I would have to drive about 8 miles to board a HOV to come back to my work 4 miles away.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    And before you say ride a bike
    January 25, 2013 8:21 am
    Not practical, There are 2 to 3 times sometimes a week I need to go to seattle on company business, I never know most days when that is, so I cannot plan ahead. I would then have to Ride back home, get my car then go to Seattle, then come back home and get my Bike and ride back to work. Or if I took the bus, take the bus (which doesnt run during the mid day) downtown transfer, walk back home and get my vehicle.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    Same same...
    January 25, 2013 11:02 am
    I'd have to walk 1 1/2 miles to the Transit center to catch a reasonable bus. Even if I drove to the transit center, if I factor in the time of parking, walking to the bus, waiting for the bus, etc., I'd have already made it to work in my car. The convenience of time outweighs any need on my part to ride the bus.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    Why not...
    January 25, 2013 11:03 am
    ...make the HOV lanes HOT?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hawks$life wrote...
    WHAAAAA!
    January 25, 2013 12:16 pm
    *white people problems*
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    And before you jump on the pay as you go.
    January 25, 2013 8:14 am
    here are some statements to chew on

    13 cents a gallon is all we will need including the 520 replacement. Question why wasn't it enough, where did all that money go.

    2nd or 3rd highest gas tax in the nation and we cant take care of our roads. Why not, where does the money go?

    Why does a on ramp in washington take almost 10 times the cost to build than similar ramp in South Dakota? Where does all the money Go?

    Why did the state mandate ferries be built in Washington, therefor telling Todd (I highly unionised company that donates millions to the Democrats)they are the only game in town thus taking a ferry that we bought for 42 million to cost 76 million for the same thing, thus wasting gas tax dollars. Where did the money go?

    Answer these and many more statements on the very wasteful spending of the state of Washington

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BBQnut wrote...
    And before you jump on the pay as you go.
    January 25, 2013 8:25 am
    This sounds like you have done your homework. As a government purchasing agent one time told me "What do I care, it's not my money" that seems to be the attitude of many government employees, thank goodness it's not all of them as I have met many more goods ones then bad. But as they say a few bad apples soil the bushel.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • calapete wrote...
    interesting, how bout some sources
    January 25, 2013 8:42 am
    Ramps cost more here?

    there is no Todd Shipyard dude.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Really Calpete
    January 25, 2013 9:02 am
    and from the news article

    Todd Shipyards, now owned by Vigor Industrial, built the past six ferries for the state and is building two more now.

    So which No Todd shipyards were they talking about ?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • calapete wrote...
    Todd shipyard name is gone, it is now Vigor Shipyards
    January 25, 2013 9:48 am
    Vigor Industrial LLC made a $500 donation to Gov Inslee AND Rob McKenna. They also gave to Sen Rolfes, Rep Appleton and Rep Hansen, all vocal supporters of ferry funding.

    Still waiting on your source on the ramps.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Todd Shipyards
    January 25, 2013 10:16 am
    Used by all the news stories, Big deal they were bought out.

    The ramp thing, im trying to find, it seems to have gone off the web searches.

    But it cited the Paying of Union Scale and the red tape along with the constant stuides as the major reason it costs more in Washington.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    As far as the donations Im talking Unions
    January 25, 2013 10:31 am
    Do you believe they passed that law out of the goodness of their heart?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sam Sasquatch wrote...
    RIGHT ON!!
    January 25, 2013 11:03 am
    Sing it brother!!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ToldYa wrote...
    Where did the money go?
    January 25, 2013 7:28 pm
    Unionized prevailing wages... they are exorbitant and drive the cost of state projects through the proverbial roof. This is why we need a right-to-work state!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bucket Dad wrote...
    What it likely look like is
    January 25, 2013 9:44 am
    The tree huggers will achieve their utopia, and people just stop driving as much or car pool more. So now we have a lot less taxes (I refuse to call it "revenue") from gas to pay for the infrastructure. Worse yet, the bus (which travels over the same roads that are not being maintained because we have no money) fare won't go up because it would be a "burden on the poor." So there will be new "fees" on everything from car tabs to bike tires.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Str8Thinking wrote...
    So what we need is rich people only roads...
    January 25, 2013 9:45 am
    Ultimately these people push others on to tolls roads don't understand many of these folks can't afford the daily cost the bridge will cost them. So basically you end up with the rich man's road. Toll everything and soon some will just not work as unemployment will pay better than pay minus tolling costs.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Rich people only roads
    January 25, 2013 12:43 pm
    Look at 5-20 it's basically a private road for the folks at Hunts & Yarrow point, Medina & Microsoft Country in Redmond. The IDIOT DEMOCRATS that say they are for the MIDDLE CLASS are CONSTANTLY gouging the Middle Class. The extra $2K a year for tolls in the highest gas tax state has a direct effect on middle class families. But hey, you morons in King County keep voting for the incompetent, inept & unaccountable tax, tax, tax & piss on the people DEMOCRATS!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • flipper wrote...
    How about...
    January 25, 2013 10:50 am
    We stop taking 50%+ of my vehicle registration fees that goes to the RTD and reallocate those for roads?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sam Sasquatch wrote...
    KING COUNTY
    January 25, 2013 11:08 am
    You reap what you sow. You keep this corrupt state government in power. the democrats of this state have no accountibility for their actions.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsshirling wrote...
    hey democrats
    January 25, 2013 11:24 am
    If you voted for Gov. Greg then you have NO RIGHT to complain about tolls. Instead of banking all of that extra tax revenue she was collecting, she hired another 10,000 people in olympia. Now, we are paying these huge taxes that were supposed to go to roads and bridges AND soon tolls as well.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Tolling of all the highways is a Democratic controlled -
    January 25, 2013 11:47 am
    really?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Yes Democratic controlled
    January 25, 2013 6:36 pm
    They run the state. The are the unions. They piss away the tax dollars and keep looking for new ways EVERY DAY to keep extracting hard earned money from we the people. They piss it away with ZERO accountability or Consequences and then come right back and extract more. Too bad you Democrats are TOO STUPID to recognize or admit it....you just keep in voting these lazy chickenshits back into office year after year.....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    "If you go system-wide with those kind of shifts, opposed to one corridor, that means your overall congestion levels will go down," he said.
    January 25, 2013 12:06 pm
    What? Am I going to stay home and not work or go to school? Am I not going to buy groceries, hardware, clothing, etc? Or am just going to get a cart and walk to those places? What a liar! The only congestion will be in the department that will collect all that brand new "revenue." Traffic will not decrease, the roads will not improve but the state will have kinds of money for government pet projects. The taxpayers will just have less for their own.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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