SEATTLE — After a long delay, tolling on the Highway 520 floating bridge will begin at 5 a.m. on Dec. 29, officials said Wednesday.
The Washington Transportation Department plans to use tolls to help pay for a new floating bridge on Lake Washington that will cost more than $4 billion. Pontoons already are under construction to replace the 48-year-old bridge with a new six-lane bridge.
“It’s old. It’s vulnerable. And it’s got to be replaced,” said Dave Dye, the department’s assistant secretary.
Officials say the bridge could be damaged during earthquakes and severe windstorms. It spans the lake from the University District in Seattle to Bellevue, carrying about 500,000 vehicles every day.
The bridge will be the first in the state with all-electronic tolling rather than cash-collection tollbooths. The system allows tolls to be collected at highway speeds through windshield stickers or through license-recognition photos, which automatically generate a bill that is mailed to drivers.
The toll rates will vary depending on traffic, costing up to $3.50 during the peak commute. The toll will be automatically deducted from prepaid accounts of drivers with a “Good to Go” transponder. Other drivers will be mailed a bill with a $1.50 surcharge.
Craig Stone, director of tolling, said the state already has planned incremental toll increases over the next four years.
Drivers can buy Good to Go stickers online; via phone; in person at Gig Harbor, Bellevue and Seattle locations; or at mobile stores being sent to major employers in the region.
Stone said more than 100,000 Good to Go accounts have already been purchased.
The tolls originally were slated to start this past spring, but glitches with the electronic system set up by Texas-based ETC Corporation delayed the start of tolling on the 520 bridge and suspended tolling on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
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