WSDOT aims to ease transition for coming SR 99 tunnel tolls
May 2, 2019, 5:02 PM | Updated: May 6, 2019, 5:56 pm
Freshly painted lane stripes on the northbound (lower) deck of the SR 99 tunnel (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
UPDATE: Added information regarding WSDOT’s new pay-as-you-go option launching this summer
The Washington State Department of Transportation aims incentivize drivers to use new tolls for Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel. Tolls kick in sometime this summer.
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WSDOT is offering a new program waiving the $5 cost usually attached to acquiring a “Good to Go!” sticker. Drivers can wait until late summer to open a “Good to Go!” account, paired with a new pay-as-you-go payment option that does not require the usual $30 pre-paid balance.
That new payment option will be launched prior to the start of tolling in the tunnel; WSDOT will be notifying customers when it becomes available.
The hope is to ease the transition for tunnel drivers.
“Fewer than one-third of vehicles currently using the SR 99 tunnel have Good To Go! passes,” said WSDOT Toll Division Director Edward Barry. “Using a Good To Go! pass is not just the most convenient way to pay a toll, but it’s the best way to make sure you’re paying the lowest toll possible.”
On top of the tunnel tolls that will range between $1 and $2.25 — depending on the time of day — driving the tunnel sans registration with “Good to Go” will run an additional $2.
More information: Good To Go! Incentive Pass Program
WSDOT is asking that anyone interested fills out a survey. It will then mail the pass out within roughly a month following that. Drivers can activate the pass by adding it to an existing “Good to Go” account.
Specifically, tolls for the tunnel will look like this:
- Toll rates range from $1.50 – $2.25 during peak travel times and $1 overnight.
- The midday toll rate is $1.25.
- Up to $2.25 for the peak rush hours between 3-6 p.m.
- There are four different toll rates over six time periods on weekdays.
- Beginning in July 2022, toll rates increase 3 percent, every three years for all days of the week.
WSDOT has yet to announce the exact date tolling in the tunnel will begin.
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