Are tolls a more effective traffic solution than the project they're paying for? (Image courtesy WSDOT)

Washington transportation officials and city residents are watching for traffic changes this week as drivers adjust their commutes with the new 520 toll.

On the morning of the first day of the post-holiday commute, Washington transportation officials say traffic was down significantly on the 520 bridge.

They say about 37 percent fewer drivers than normal crossed the bridge between 6 and 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The reduced number of drivers prompted 97.3 KIRO FM host Dave Ross to ask, "If it [the toll] reduces traffic enough, do we still need a wider bridge?"

"As long as I've been here, the perpetual problem has been: What do we do about the 520 bridge? It is always jammed, people still throw themselves at it every day only to sit and wait," said Ross on 97.3 KIRO FM's Ross and Burbank Show. "Who knew just making people pay to go across it would reduce traffic by [...] some enormous amount."

Tolling on 520 is expected to raise $1 billion overall toward the $4.65 billion cost of replacing the existing bridge and making other improvements, including an expansion from four lanes to six.

"Maybe the toll is the solution. It's not only a way to pay for the solution, but it's even better than the solution it's paying for," says Ross. "If you just get people to pay for the facilities they use, maybe we don't need to keep building bigger and bigger facilities for them."

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor

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