Week two: Drivers might be catching on to new I-405 toll lanes

While state troopers are writing more tickets, drivers appear to be getting the hang of the new I-405 express toll lanes. The number of accidents took a major dip in the second week of operation.

The Washington State Patrol says there were 119 collisions in that first week, which is a big jump over the 48 in that same week a year ago. The patrol admits those numbers are skewed high because they include collisions along stretches of I-405 that are not inside the toll system.

During the second week, there were 41 accidents in the toll system, compared to 31 during that same week last year.

Tell us what slows you down

State troopers pulled over 341 people during the second week. Most offenders received warnings, but 77 were ticketed.

Craig Stone, State Tolling Director with the Washington State Department of Transportation, said there are a few unexpected issues with the system. One is the lack of use of the direct-access ramps.

“Maybe the most surprising (observation) to me is how little the direct access points into Bellevue and Kirkland are being used,” Stone said. “We thought that might be an area we would see congestion around the exit points because you are getting right into Bellevue and right into Kirkland.”

Those ramps are at NE 6th Street and 128th Street.

Related: Four tips for driving in the new toll lanes

But if you do use the ramp at NE 6th Street, Stone reminds drivers they can’t access SR 520 from there.

“We’ve heard of people trying to do some fairly challenging maneuvers, such as they get on at NE 6th [Street] and then they want to weave all the way across to [Highway] 520,” Stone said. “It was never the design. That’s why you have ramps at 4th [Street] and 8th [Street]. It’s always been double striped in that area to prohibit that movement.”

And again, crossing the double lines is dangerous and it could mean a $136 ticket for drivers. It’s the number one violation troopers are stopping drivers for.

Travel times in the general purpose lanes continue to run faster than last year’s average, even with increased volume. But Stone said we’ll get a better picture of why that’s happening when cities like Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville, and Redmond submit data on potential increased traffic on their surface streets.

“There is clearly concern with individuals who say this is probably the worse thing the department has ever done … but then again, recognize that we also have people say this has been a lifesaver for them,” Stone said. “They’re saving five hours a week in their travel time.”

Also, we’re waiting on the first look at how much toll revenue the state is collecting and stats on actual users.