CHOKEPOINTS

Changes coming to I-405’s express toll lane system

Jan 21, 2016, 10:39 PM | Updated: May 7, 2016, 10:40 pm

Ever since the express toll lanes opened on I-405 in September 2015, the reviews have been mixed. Depending on who you ask, the lanes are either a plague or a pleasure. The Washington State Department of Transportation says, “we’ve been listening to suggestions for how we can improve the system.”

Now some of those suggestions are being acted on:

• Crews will be pulling back 425 feet of striping to allow additional room and time for drivers to exit the express toll lanes and merge over to I-5.

Related: Senator ups the ante on tackling Washington’s left lane campers

• “Exit Only” wording will be added to the pavement on the southbound express toll lanes at Northeast 6th Street in Bellevue to alert solo drivers that they need to merge to the right lane to continue south on I-405.

• Exit and enter points on I-405 between NE 195th Street and SR 527 are getting bigger. Crews will extend the access points by 400 feet to give drivers additional time to merge in and out of the system.

These adjustments are scheduled to begin as early as Thursday, Jan. 21, however some of the work is weather dependent.

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