CHOKEPOINTS

I-405 shoulder driving reduces toll prices for evening drivers

Jul 11, 2017, 1:01 PM

max toll rates...

Should the max toll be raised to 15 dollars? Should SR 167 and I-405 share the same tolling rates? (File Photo)

(File Photo)

Shoulder driving along I-405 is saving commuters time and money.

The state began letting evening commuters use the shoulder on the nearly 2-mile stretch of I-405 between 527 and I-5 in April.

The change has traffic moving faster. And toll rates, which are linked to congestion, have gone down, the Everett Daily Herald reports.

Before shoulder driving began, 16 percent of evening tolls there were in the $8 to $10 range. That’s down to 4 percent.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Transportation says now that there’s shoulder driving, 16 percent of evening drivers who pay tolls are only paying $1 to $2.

The Everett Herald reports that while tolls are down, drivers are still dealing with a new bottleneck at the interchange to northbound I-5, where shoulder driving ends.

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I-405 shoulder driving reduces toll prices for evening drivers