Expansion on SR 167 will add miles of toll lane
Jun 3, 2016, 12:58 PM | Updated: 1:00 pm
The state will open a new section of SR 167 HOT lane on Sunday. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Work being done this weekend on State Route 167 in Auburn will add about 3.5 miles of toll lane to the eastside.
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The Washington State Department of Transportation reports that the current end of the SR 167 HOT lane in Auburn is being extended. It’s part of a bigger effort to construct an eight-mile extension to Pacific. That work will be completed in early 2017.
The state is opening this stretch early to “keep traffic moving.”
A map from WSDOT shows the existing HOT lane on SR 167 (in yellow), the new section (in blue), and the future HOT lane (in black).
The new lane is expected to open Sunday. Because the HOT lane is not fully complete, it transitions to an HOV lane, before 37th Street NW. Solo drivers will have to be aware of the transition and exit the lane.
Work on SR 167 will close several lanes and ramps this weekend at the SR 167/SR 18 interchange, according to the state. Crews are replacing pavement on the southbound SR 167 general purpose lane bridge over SR 18.
As drivers prepare for expanded HOT lanes, others are still getting used to higher fees. The weekday and weekend toll rates on SR 520 increased 5 percent on July 1. That increase equates to peak period tolls increasing by about 20 cents. The pay-by-mail fee increased by $2 to “align with the I-405 express toll lanes and Tacoma Narrows Bridge.”
The state says the increases are enough to raise the required $1.2 billion in revenue to cover a portion of the new 520 Bridge cost.
