I-405 part of national debate over free market traffic solutions

After the disappointing results of the state’s own study, advice from out-of-state researchers, and criticism from drivers, perhaps the latest news from traffic experts will have state officials changing things up in the I-405 express toll lanes. And that might be expensive for drivers as other states show tolls reaching nearly $50.

The Wall Street Journal reports various experts are recommending that states using free-market solutions to traffic — like toll lanes — should increase the price to make them more efficient. Washington has a $10 cap on the I-405 express toll lanes. Other states using demand-based tolls to manage congestion are either experiencing high rates or congestion nearly as bad as before.

RELATED: Higher express tolls is one way to fix I-405

According to the Wall Street Journal:

• An uncapped nine-mile stretch of I-66 in Virginia has had tolls of up to $47.50. In March, there were 674 trips on the freeway that cost more than $40. Drivers on I-66 toll lanes paid $6 million since it opened in December. That number is expected to reach $12 million by June.
• Other states are considering raising express lane tolls. Utah lawmakers have given transportation officials the authority to quadruple rates on I-15.
• The toll cap on I-10 and I-110 in California has risen six times since 2016. The toll rate is currently $2 per mile.
• An 11-mile uncapped toll lane in Austin, Texas has reached a high of $10.13 within six months of opening.

I-405 express toll lanes

The Journal partially focuses on I-405 where express toll lanes were controversial before they even opened. University of Minnesota researchers studied I-405 and found that even though the toll lanes did not achieve the desired speeds enough of the time, traffic is still better than without them.

The I-405 express toll lanes were supposed to hit two requirements after two years: they had to financially cover the costs to operate themselves; and produce average trips of 45-miles-per-hour 90 percent of the time during peak hours. The express lanes on I-405 gave the state a windfall of funds — $44.5 million in revenue. The cost to operate them was only $16 million during the two-year trial that ended in 2017. Those funds are legally required to be spent on the freeway.

The speed requirement was not met 90 percent of the time; it was only reached 82 percent of the time. This led to a legal debate over whether or not the state was operating the lanes illegally after failing to satisfy both requirements. That debate likely won’t go anywhere as the state’s top legal authority refuses to look into the matter.

In an attempt to reach desired flow, the Washington State Department of Transportation has increased the frequency of how quickly tolls go up. But some experts are saying that the price is what needs to increase. Researchers from the University of Minnesota note that the I-405 express toll lanes hit their $10 max about 15 percent of the time, which is too often.

A higher price tag is the next option. But that isn’t likely. Reema Griffith with the Washington State Transportation Commission told The Journal that if the cap was removed from the I-405 toll lanes, the price would rise “exorbitantly.” She says the lanes already have a bad reputation of being the “Lexus lanes” or that they are “intended for wealthy motorists.” The state would like to avoid this impression.

“We already get a lot of pushback from it hitting $10,” Griffith told The Journal.

Instead, the commission is considering options to get traffic moving faster. For example, traffic cops may start patrolling I-405 more often, looking for single drivers who set their Good-to-Go passes to carpool when using the lanes. But Griffith says that the commission doesn’t feel it’s “hit that point where we have to do something.”

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