Tolling cameras, sensors going in on I-405
Oct 8, 2014, 7:41 AM | Updated: 9:58 am
The state is just over a year from imposing tolls on I-405, but the cameras and sensors are already being installed.
Drivers might have noticed the new equipment being set up between Highway 522 and the I-5 split in Lynnwood.
“For the past couple weeks, we’ve had crews out there installing cameras and lasers and other detection devices as part of our toll system,” said toll engineer Todd Merkens.
Workers will start adding the cameras and sensors south from Highway 522 to downtown Bellevue.
The plan is to have the tolling system in place in just over a year.
“Drivers will see us out there doing installation over the next several months, and then we’ll be in a testing mode for a while,” Merkens said.
The HOT lanes on I-405 will allow cars with solo drivers or cars without the proper number of passengers to qualify for the HOV lane to buy their way in. They will operate just like the HOT lanes on Highway 167.
The state transportation commission will decide next spring on whether to change the requirements to be considered a carpool or HOV. Right now, you only need two people in a car to drive in the HOV/HOT lanes for free. The commission will consider changing that number to three.
The Good to Go! system will also debut a new pass next year that will allow drivers to switch their transponder on and off. The “Flex Pass” will have a switch from toll mode to HOV mode, allowing drivers to tell the sensors whether they should be charged or not.
The passes will also change colors on the windshield side so state troopers will be able to see if your pass is in the proper mode.
