What it’ll take to increase toll rates on I-405

Since I-405’s express toll lanes hit their maximum $10 this week, just more than two months since they opened, many have speculated that toll managers will seek to raise that maximum.

But it’s not that simple.

“From the Transportation Commission’s perspective, we are not considering raising the maximum. It is set and it will be left that way for a while,” said Reema Griffith, executive director with the Washington State Transportation Commission, which sets the tolling rate.

WSDOT Toll Division Secretary Patty Rubstello has reportedly spoken with the commission about what it would take to push tolls above $10. But the commission isn’t ready to consider such a move just yet.

“We have told the department of transportation that in order for any consideration to be given to expanding that $10 to a higher number, there will have to be pretty conclusive evidence presented that shows that there are no operational issues that are contributing to this problem,” Griffith told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “Pricing is just one piece that is going to mitigate this congestion.”

Operational issues, meaning problems with the roadway itself that harm traffic flow. One example, Griffith notes, is a stretch near Bothell.

“There are many factors that go into what makes traffic worse on some days and not others,” Griffith said. “It could be rain, it could be accidents. There are clearly some operation issues on this corridor, one being a natural bottleneck north of Bothell where two lanes go to one. That’s a problem.”

But for Dori, those operational issues are a benefit to the department. Dori alleges that the department wants congestion on I-405 to force people to use the toll lanes, and therefore provide the state with money. He has previously predicted that the lanes would reach $10 far sooner than drivers would expect.

Related: Dori predicts $10 tolls

“I think you guys are good at your jobs and you’re good at projecting things. This corridor was engineered to ensure as much gridlock as possible in the general purpose lanes to ensure the demand would be such that you could get the highest price, legally allowed, in the HOV lanes,” Dori said.

It’s not a theory Griffith would endorse.

“We’re a government organization, and we aren’t allowed to make a profit. The only beneficiaries of these dollars are going to be the users of that corridor,” she said. “The more demand placed on those lanes is a direct benefit to the users of that highway. To put that as there is some unscrupulous intent is probably not accurate.”

“The fact of the matter is, that interstate was built a long time ago. It predates the growth we have seen in the region,” she said. “You do the math &#8212 and we’re happy to see our economy thriving and people coming here &#8212 but it’s creating massive gridlock on our highways everywhere in the central Puget Sound.”

With gridlock on I-405 before the express toll lanes, Griffith said, the new express system was designed to offer some choice to drivers in need, and overall speed things up for everyone.

“A lot of people don’t look at these lanes as a daily usage approach. It’s on days that you have to be somewhere and you can’t sit in traffic,” she said.

“If people move over from the (general purpose) lanes into these express toll lanes, as soon as they move over they are creating more space in the free lanes,” Griffith said. “That corridor was entirely locked down prior to the express toll lanes. We need to be accurate showing the before and after picture &#8212 before everybody was in gridlock.”