State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe’s bill to improve the Interstate 405 express toll lanes is part of the supplemental state transportation budget passed by the legislature this week and sent to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature.
The transportation package that passed the State Senate Monday and the House of Representatives Wednesday includes investments aimed at reducing congestion and adding capacity to the I-405 express-toll lanes. It also has directives to study other possible improvements.
The budget commits $45 million from toll revenue to improve the flow of traffic on the corridor between Interstate 5 and Washington Highway 520.
“I’ve heard from thousands of constituents who have voiced their frustrations about the express toll lanes along I-405,” 1st District Democrat McAuliffe said Monday. “I’m relieved to see that this budget includes many provisions that I believe will go a long way towards easing those frustrations.”
The legislation directs the State Transportation Commission to work on changes to improve the operations of the I-405 express toll lanes. McAuliffe said that the intent is to reduce travel time and travel cost.
The legislation also directs the commission to consider eliminating tolls during evening non-peak hours, weekends and holidays, lengthening access points to make it easier to merge, and improving signage to reduce confusion.
“The most important part of this budget is it requires public hearings when adopting changes to the toll lanes,” McAuliffe said. “Many in my community have felt voiceless since the tolls have been in place. I know that this legislation will not completely satisfy everyone’s concerns but it does recognize that people are frustrated and takes steps to improve the I-405 corridor. I’m hopeful that this will bring more people to the table so that we can have a productive conversation about how to make these lanes work for all people.”
McAuliffe had introduced a bill last week to study ways to improve I-405 express toll lanes. Many parts of that bill are included in the transportation budget.
McAuliffe represents most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, and the rest of the 1st Legislative District.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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