By Nicholas Mirra

A cheeky use of a drawspan opening during the bridge's grand opening in 1963.

If you drive across Lake Washington’s Evergreen Point Floating Bridge with any regularity, you’ve likely been caught at some point in a drawspan opening that halted your vehicle for up to 30 minutes. During these traffic stops, drivers have had the chance to admire the Cascades (when visible), ponder nearby bumper stickers and, of course, check out @wsdot_traffic for more information.

Most of these backups have been caused by a required opening of the floating bridge’s center drawspan to let boats pass through. Since construction on the new floating bridge began in spring 2012 and blocked the old bridge’s east navigation channel, the drawspan has opened for marine traffic more than 600 times. We know this has been difficult for drivers on the bridge. And we have worked hard to keep them informed, including creation of a text service that sends advance notice of drawspan openings to more than 9,200 subscribed drivers.

Those alerts, however, soon will be moot. Drivers – good news is at hand. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 17, the floating bridge’s drawspan will open for boats nevermore.

The new floating bridge, at left, nears the drawspan of the existing bridge, at lower right. On Feb. 17, added pontoons will prevent boats from passing through an opened drawspan. (Photo credit: HDR)

Why? The new floating bridge we’re building lies just north of the old bridge. The new structure is steadily growing from east to west as crews join together its supporting pontoons. On Feb. 17, newly joined and anchored pontoons will completely obstruct the drawspan. (See a diagram of the closure on the SR 520 website.) From that day forward, the north-south channel through the middle of the bridge will be blocked.

For drivers and transit riders, those midday minutes of motionless, midlake tranquility will be a thing of the past.Local mariners will still be able to get past the floating bridges (both old and new) by passing through a reopened east navigation channel or the marine channel on the west side of the lake. For more information on the navigation channels, visit our drawspan information Web page.

By Ian Sterling

It takes people – a whole lot of them. As Labor Day approaches, we at WSDOT tip our hardhats to the men and women building and maintaining our state’s transportation system, with a special nod to the more than 1,400 workers involved in one of the largest construction undertakings in state history.

Did you know that the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program is actually a series of separate projects being built at several sites around the state? These locations include:

• the new floating bridge across Lake Washington;
• pontoon construction in Aberdeen and Tacoma;
• new roadway and transit stops on the east side of Lake Washington; and
• precast concrete construction work in Kenmore.

Brandy Cunningham, a traffic control supervisor

Making it all happen are workers like Brandy Cunningham, a traffic control supervisor and member of Laborers’ Local 440. The mother of two has spent most of her weekends and many an early morning this summer directing drivers around roadwork on the Eastside Transit and HOV Project. Cunningham says it’s cool to be working on something that thousands of people use every day. She tells us she has a  sense of pride anytime she drives by the project because she has a role in it. One of her favorite parts of the job is when drivers give her team a wave. She says the crew gets to know the faces of a lot of people driving by and enjoys it when they get a smile or a wave. Keeping drivers safe and moving through the construction is a critical role.

Tyler Rabey is a member of Carpenters Local 317. Aberdeen-born-and-raised, he completed a two-year carpentry program at Grays Harbor College and now helps build the massive pontoons that make up the backbone of the new floating bridge. He says it’s incredible how they’re built and it’s amazing to be part of their construction. He also notes that the job has allowed him to buy a house and a nice car before most of his friends of the same age. His training and work on the pontoons have launched his career.

Operator trainee Pernell Vuepa

Operator trainee Pernell Vuepa starts his day at 3:30 a.m., making the commute from his home in Auburn to work on the Eastside Transit and HOV Project. The heavy-equipment operator has a job that any child with a Tonka truck would envy. He says kids come to watch as he operates a giant loader. He tells us little kids like to see big things – like concrete forms, piles of dirt and other objects he spends his days moving into place. According to Pernell, the best part of his job is getting to do something different every day. He’s a proud member of the Operating Engineers Local 612.

One of the most unique jobs anywhere has to belong to Daniel Nielsen, a fourth-generation pile driver with Local 196. He’s in charge of bolting together the football-field-size longitudinal pontoons on Lake Washington—a key to the Floating Bridge and Landings Project. He notes the bolts used are up to 20 feet long and weigh roughly 400 pounds each. To reach the latest pair of pontoons being joined, he walks on the ones already connected. Every time two more pontoons are bolted together, his on-foot commute along the pontoons increases. He tells us it currently takes about 15-minutes to make the walk.

Daniel Nielsen, a fourth-generation pile driver

These are just a few of the many faces making the new SR 520 bridge and corridor a reality. From scuba divers in the waters of Grays Harbor to crane operators perched high above Lake Washington, well over one thousand individuals are laboring every day to rebuild this vital corridor. Other SR 520 construction workers we talked to for this story included Randy Janson, a concrete foreman in Aberdeen and member of Cement Masons Local 528; Mark Folk, a former jeweler now doing carpentry work on the new floating bridge’s east approach; and Sergio Carlos, a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters who’s building concrete forms on the highway’s Eastside corridor.

On this Labor Day, we say, “Thanks, we can’t do it without you,” and salute them all for a job well done.

By Roger Thompson

We’re gearing up for the fourth weekend full closure of the SR 520 bridge this month. Wait. What? Another closure?

The main reason streets or highways are closed to traffic for construction is so crews can get the work done more quickly, more efficiently, and more safely with fewer disruptions to motorists. Sometimes crews can perform their work by closing just part of a road. Other times, it’s necessary to shut down a highway entirely – again, to get the work done more quickly, efficiently, and safely.

In other words, get in and get out!

Another reason is to take advantage of the longer daylight and good weather we often have in Western Washington during the summer. It’s great for backyard barbecues – but it’s also great for getting a lot of outdoor construction done. Especially when it involves pouring concrete or placing asphalt. And there’s a whole lot of that going on with the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program.

During June’s four weekend closures of SR 520, crews are pouring some 2,000 cubic yards of concrete to build the roadway deck for the new West Connection Bridge on Lake Washington (it will connect the new floating bridge with the highway’s existing lanes in Seattle). Other crews, working around the clock during the four closures, are placing asphalt for the new, six-lane highway being built on SR 520 between Evergreen Point Road and I-405.

Crews use a closed SR 520 highway and a barge as work platforms to pump concrete for the roadway deck of SR 520’s new West Connection Bridge.

Another reason for having four weekend highway closures in a five-week span is the pressing nature of the SR 520 construction schedule. Urgency is driving our weekend closures for the highway’s  Eastside Transit and HOV Project. Our contractor crews are in the home stretch of completing the Eastside’s improvements, including new transit stops in the highway’s median, lidded overpasses, roundabout interchanges, direct-access ramps for buses and carpools, and a dedicated transit/carpool lane in both directions. All this work is critical to opening the improved Eastside segment of SR 520 later this summer.

A paving crew places asphalt on the highway’s new six-lane Eastside corridor.

Crews also are working to complete the West Connection Bridge in a couple of months so that other crews can move forward with the next phase of building the new floating bridge: anchoring into position and joining together the bridge’s massive concrete pontoons, building the roadway deck, then, in early 2016, connecting it to the fixed-bridge structures on either side of Lake Washington and opening the new road to traffic.

Did we need to schedule four full-weekend closures in such a short time frame? Unfortunately, yes. The fact is there is never a good time to shut down a highway. But summer, as noted earlier, is when certain highway work can best be done. With so many community festivals, sporting events and other popular weekend happenings in the greater Seattle area, the number of “available” weekends for highway closures gets whittled down pretty fast.

More SR 520 closures will be needed this summer as we proceed with all this construction. Check our SR 520 Highway Closures page for the latest in closure information.

By Laura Johnson

Toll rates on the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges are going up July 1. When rates increase, often people ask, so where does all my toll money go?

Well, the majority of each dollar goes goes toward paying for construction of the new bridges in the corridor you’re traveling. For example, on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 71 cents out of every toll dollar goes to repaying construction debt. On the SR 520 bridge, it’s 82 cents out of every dollar that goes toward the $1.2 billion in toll money we need to build the new bridge set to open in spring 2016.

So what about the other 29 and 18 cents? Well, it’s split among a lot of different things. We have to pay our vendors that operate the toll collection equipment out on the highway and our customer service centers. There are credit card and bank fees associated with collecting the toll money, and costs to buy the passes we sell you. We also have folks at our Toll Division who make sure the tolling operations keep running smoothly – they get a couple pennies from each dollar.

If you want to see how everything’s broken down, check out these color coded dollar bills, which make it easier to see the percentages in relation to each other.

Where your Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll dollar goes

71 cents of every dollar goes to repaying construction debt.


Where your SR 520 toll dollar goes

The majority of your SR 520 toll dollar goes to paying for a new bridge.


We also looked at how much it costs other toll agencies around the country to collect their tolls. WSDOT’s costs (in green) are about average.


Now that you know where your toll money goes, it’s time for the details about the upcoming rate increases. On July 1, the Tacoma Narrows toll will go up 25 cents across the board for two-axle vehicles, with new rates of $4.50 for Good To Go! customers with a pass, $5.50 for drivers paying at toll booths and $6.50 for Pay By Mail customers. It’ll cost the average weekday commuter about $65 more a year.

Tolls on the SR 520 bridge will go up approximately 2.5 percent on July 1. The peak weekday Good To Go! pass rate will be $3.80 and the peak weekday Pay By Mail rate will be $5.40. The average weekday commuter will pay about $52 more a year.

Again, these rate increases have to happen so that we can pay back the bonds we sold to finance the building of the bridges.

The way it’s set up for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is that there are escalating debt payments, so the toll rates have to increase to keep up.


For the SR 520 Bridge, the Transportation Commission planned to have four 2.5-percent increases over four years (2012-2015), and then a 15-percent increase in 2016. During the initial rate setting process, they chose the 15-percent increase in 2016 after the new bridge is open to drivers. No rate increases are planned after 2016 for financing purposes; however, the commission will monitor traffic and revenue data to ensure we pay back our bondholders.

By Guest Blogger Emily Pace

Using a blue filtered light allows the toll system to capture the Washington license plate

The new Seahawks and Sounders special design plates are popular with drivers – with 5,800 Seahawks plates purchased since they became available earlier this month. What you may not know is a lot of coordination goes into developing a new license plate design.

Non-profit organizations use special design plates to raise funds for their programs. The Department of Licensing works with these organizations to ensure the proposed plates meet DOL standards. Our job is to make sure the specialty plates work for toll collection.
When preparing to launch tolling on SR 520, we were presented with a unique situation. We couldn’t use bright lights to take photos of the vehicle license plates crossing the bridge because the light would impact drivers, residents and even the aquatic life in Lake Washington.

We worked with DOL to develop test plates using a variety of color combinations.

Instead of using bright lights, our toll system uses black and white cameras with an added blue filtered strobe light to capture good images of the license plates. The blue filtered light allows blue portions of the plate to display as white and nearly every other color on the license plate appears as a shade of gray. This helps decrease the appearance of graphics in the background. For example, the light blue image of Mount Rainier on the Washington plate is basically eliminated, making it easier to read the letters and numbers on the plate.

While the blue filter has many benefits, it also creates challenges with the contrast of colors and background for some specialty plates. In an effort to learn more about the challenges, we worked with DOL to develop test plates using a variety of color combinations. We put the test plates on a car and drove it across the SR 520 bridge. And yes, we paid the toll!

These photos show how changing the color combinations makes the license plates easier to read.

After the test, we found we needed to make adjustments to the background of the new specialty plates to increase contrast. For example, one of the test plates had a blue background with white numbers. The blue filtered light made the blue background appear white, making it difficult to read the white numbers. 

We used what we learned with the test plates when developing the new Seahawks and Sounders plates. With a few minor color changes, we have a final product that works for our agency, DOL, law enforcement and the fans.

The specialty plate guidelines we are developing with DOL will make it simple for organizations to design their specialty plates. The work will ultimately improve customer service by making it easier for the tolling equipment to accurately identify the license plates and ensure tolls are collected.

By guest blogger Emily Pace

I-90 Floating Bridge

As you may recall, earlier this year we conducted outreach on the proposal to toll I-90 between I-5 in Seattle and I-405 in Bellevue, including public meetings in Bellevue, Mercer Island and in Seattle, and a public comment period. We had a great turnout at the meetings, and in the end, received thousands of comments from the public and state and local agencies.

It’s important to remember why the Legislature asked us to study tolling I-90. The Cross-Lake Washington corridor – made up of the I-90 and SR 520 bridges – provides as a vital connection between our region’s major employment and population centers. We’re facing two key challenges with this corridor: funding the SR 520 - I-5 to Medina Bridge Replacement Project to complete the SR 520 Program and relieving congestion on I-90.  To address these challenges, the Legislature asked us to evaluate tolling I-90 and complete an environmental impact statement to examine other possible project alternatives.

Craig Stone, Assistant Secretary for the WSDOT Toll Division, and Tolled Corridors Director John White discuss the I-90 EIS with members of the public attending the Bellevue scoping meeting held October 10th.

How did we use the feedback we received from outreach earlier this year?
Many people suggested potential alternatives to tolling I-90 that may help meet the purpose of the project, which is to alleviate congestion on I-90 and fund SR 520 between I-5 and Medina. We used the suggestions to develop a list of potential solutions that fit into categories such as state or regional taxes, mileage fees, federal funding and adding new highway capacity. 

Many suggestions came from folks who live or work on Mercer Island.  When we discuss tolling I-90, we realize Mercer Island is in a very unique situation—fully reliant on I-90 to leave the Island in either direction.  As we continue with the environmental process and evaluate the variable tolling alternative, we’re only considering potential tolling options (pdf 404 kb) that would offer Mercer Island a free or discounted way off the island.

More input needed Oct. 6 through Nov. 7 on proposal and alternatives
We’re having another 30-day comment period and we need your feedback again – this time on the potential alternatives and proposal to toll I-90. You can provide your comments online, by mail or in person at a public meeting in Bellevue, Mercer Island and Seattle. Last time, many folks wanted a chance to give verbal comment at the public meetings, so this time around we’re offering the chance to speak at each meeting.

What are the next steps?
Ultimately, the Legislature decides whether or not to toll I-90. After the comment period ends on Nov. 6, we will compile all the comments and summarize key themes into a summary report. Your feedback will help determine which alternatives are studied in the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) analysis. In mid-2014, we will publish the DEIS findings and allow the public another opportunity to comment. We plan to deliver the final report to the Legislature in early 2015.

Have more questions?
Check out our common questions on I-90 tolling to find an answer.

Even though the Blue Angels are not flying over Seattle this year, there will still be closures of the Interstate 90 floating bridge while the Patriots Jet Team takes to the skies.

Similar to when the Blue Angels practiced and performed for Seafair, the I-90 floating bridge will still close to drivers, cyclists and walkers. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a Safety Zone for the area below the performance. We call it “The Box,” but really it’s more like a few rectangles crossing over each other. The northern part of the box covers the I-90 floating bridges, which is why they are closed during performances by both the Blue Angels and the Patriots Jet Team.

Courtesy: Patriots Jet Team

Traffic
Some minor changes from years past, the closures on I-90 will take less time, and there is no Thursday practice, therefore, no Thursday closure.

Here’s the schedule:
• Friday, Aug. 2:  1:15 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. (Practice)
• Saturday, Aug. 3:  1:15 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. (Full show)
• Sunday, Aug. 4:  1:15 p.m. - 2:40 p.m. (Full show)

Additionally, several ramps will be closed at that time. The I-90 express lanes will also be closed from 12:30 to 3 p.m. each day, but are available in the event of a medical emergency that requires a trip to the hospital. Just call 911.

SR 520
The State Route 520 bridge will remain open for traffic and tolls will be collected according to the rate schedule. Good news for drivers, the bridge will not open for any boats during Patriots Jet Team flights. The bridge will be busy. If you need to take a cross-lake trip while the Patriots are in the air, just plan ahead. Outside of those times during Seafair weekend, the east navigation channel will be open to boats up to 59 feet, which should reduce the number of marine openings.
Whether you’re heading out to enjoy Seafair festivities, or just plain going somewhere else, remember to plan ahead and know before you go.

Under the proposed rates, drivers with a Good To Go! pass will still pay the lowest toll rate.

By guest blogger Korbett Mosesly

Did you know WSDOT doesn’t set toll rates? The Washington State Transportation Commission is responsible for setting toll rates for state highways and bridges. The commission reviews traffic and revenue on toll facilities, including the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges, throughout the year to determine whether toll rate changes are necessary.

We design, build, and operate the toll facilities and work with the commission to set toll rates in an amount sufficient to meet the financial obligations of each facility.

What does all this mean if you drive over either the Tacoma Narrows or SR 520 bridges?
On March 19, after months of reviewing traffic and revenue results as well as forecasts for the next fiscal year, the commission proposed toll rate increases for both bridges.

For the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the commission is proposing a 25-cent increase for two-axle vehicles in both 2013 and 2014. On July 1, 2013, the commission proposes that the Good To Go! pass rate will increase to $4.25, the cash rate will go to $5.25 while the Pay By Mail rate will be $6.25. The commission will continue to keep an eye on traffic, revenue and debt payments over the next year however, under their proposal tolls will go up another quarter on July 1, 2014.

On the SR 520 bridge, drivers will see a 2.5 percent increase for all toll rates. The peak weekday Good To Go! pass rate will be $3.70, while the Pay By Mail rate will rise to $5.25.

Why do toll rates need to increase?
Toll rate increases ensure revenues meet our legal requirements to cover debt payments to pay for these new bridges. State law requires revenue collected from tolls on the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges can only be used on those corridors.

For Tacoma Narrows Bridge, tolls help pay back construction bonds for the new eastbound bridge which opened in 2007. Why are tolls increasing? The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was financed with an escalating debt repayment plan which means our payments were low when the bridge first opened and rise over time. This also means tolls must increase over time. For example, between 2007 and 2009 the state made $41 million in debt payments and in the current 2011-2013 budget debt payments are nearly $90 million.

Tolls on the SR 520 bridge help pay for a new, safer bridge set to open in 2015. Toll rate increases support the finance plan for SR 520, which has incremental increases in the first five years then levels out after the new bridge is open. If you remember, SR 520 toll rates went up 2.5 percent last July, and this upcoming rate increase would be second of four planned, annual 2.5 percent rate increases. There will also be a one-time 15 percent increase in 2016 after the new bridge opens to traffic.

How can you learn more and participate?
The people who drive on and pay for the roads and bridges are an important part of the decision making process. The commission is currently seeking comments on proposed toll rate increases on the Tacoma Narrows and SR 520 bridges.

You have the opportunity to speak directly to the commissioners as they consider new rates. If you can’t make it in person, you can submit your comments to the commission via email at transc@wstc.wa.gov or by mail at:

Washington State Transportation Commission
PO Box 47308
Olympia, WA 98504-7308

 By guest blogger Emily Pace

Good To Go! customers can add out of town visitors to their account so they don’t have to stop at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll booths.

It’s the time of year when family and friends start coming into town for the holidays and we wanted to remind drivers how easy it is to temporarily add out-of-towners to your existing Good To Go! account. If you’re a Good To Go! customer there are two ways to pay tolls: install a pass in your car or register a vehicle’s license plate on your account. By simply adding a vehicle’s license plate to your account, called Pay By Plate, you can pay the tolls for that vehicle when it crosses the SR 520 or Tacoma Narrows bridges. You don’t need to install a pass.

With Pay By Plate, visitors can skip the lines at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll booths. We typically see heavy traffic eastbound on SR 16 near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll plaza on Thanksgiving Day between 5 and 11 p.m.; usually after dinner wraps-up. You can also use the 24th Street on-ramp to bypass the toll booths. Drivers without a Good To Go! account can choose to Pay By Mail on the SR 520 or Tacoma Narrows bridges and we’ll mail a bill to the registered vehicle owner within 14 days.

How Pay By Plate works: log into your online account or call customer service to add a vehicle’s license plate, make and model to a Good To Go! account. When the vehicle travels across the SR 520 or Tacoma Narrows bridges, tolling equipment will take a photo of the vehicle’s license plate. The license plate is then matched to the correct Good To Go! account and the toll is deducted.

When using Pay By Plate, drivers will be charged the posted Good To Go! toll rate plus an extra 25 cent fee for each toll transaction. Why the extra 25 cents? The extra fee helps cover the costs associated with processing these transactions. While our license plate recognition software is good, it is not perfect and some of the photos require a person to review.

While there is an extra fee, Pay By Plate is a great option for out-of-towners who are visiting someone with a Good To Go! account. You can have up to six vehicles on an account at any time, with a mix of vehicles paying with a pass or using Pay By Plate. Both options provide the lowest toll rates and allow visitors to skip receiving a bill in the mail or stopping at the toll booths on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Pay By Plate only works on the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges. Solo drivers wanting to use the SR 167 HOT lanes still need a Good To Go! pass.

And remember, this is not just a special holiday offer. Pay By Plate is available year round. So whether you have family coming for Easter, friends in town for SeaFair, or you’re caravaning on a road trip, consider adding your visitor’s license plates to your Good To Go! account. You can call customer service or log into your online account to add and remove vehicles and passes as needed.

 by guest blogger Emily Pace

You might’ve seen recent article in the media about a customer who received a civil penalty for unpaid tolls, but never received a toll bill. We mail two toll bills to the registered vehicle owner on file with Department of Licensing. We give drivers 80 days to pay before we mail a third notice, this time with a $40 penalty for each unpaid transaction.

As with all mail, there are many reasons why a bill may not reach someone or is returned to us by the post office, some examples include:

• The registered vehicle owner has recently moved and not updated their address with DOL. State law requires vehicle owners update their address with DOL within 30 days of moving.
• The customer sets up a temporary hold (which can be in place for up to 30 days) but does not pick up their mail within 30 days, the mail is then returned to the sender.
• The customer’s mailbox becomes too full to deliver mail, they moved and did not provide a new address, the address provided was incorrect etc.

We note in our files any mail that is returned to us for whatever reason. If a forwarding address is provided to us by the post office we reissue the toll bill to the new address. We have no way of knowing if the vehicle owner has moved, if they’re temporarily out of town or if they’ll eventually pick up mail at that address.

This brings us to an important point: If you don’t get a toll bill call us. You should receive a toll bill about 14 days after crossing either the SR 520 or Tacoma Narrows bridges. If you don’t get a bill for any of the reasons listed above, or you misplace it or throw it away – give our customer service center a call. When you call, if you have your license plate, state and name they will be able to look up any outstanding toll charges and you can pay them right then over the phone. You can also visit us at any of our walk-in centers in Seattle, Bellevue or Gig Harbor.

Quite a few people have asked why we don’t allow drivers to enter their license plate online so they can see any toll charges. It comes down to privacy. We don’t want people to be able to enter their neighbor’s license plate online, or anyone else for that matter, and be able to see all their toll crossings.

Ultimately, there must be consequences for drivers who don’t pay their tolls on time. If we don’t enforce the tolls, it isn’t fair to the drivers who are paying. Toll enforcement is also about ensuring we have enough revenue to provide funding for the bridge replacement.

If you have questions or concerns regarding a toll bill, civil penalty or Good To Go! account please call 1-866-936-8246 or email GoodToGo@GoodToGo.wsdot.wa.gov.

If you don’t pay your tolls, after 80 days you’ll receive this envelope with a notice of civil penalty.

This week we started a new toll enforcement program to help collect tolls from drivers who crossed the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges and have not yet paid their toll bill.

Previously, Tacoma Narrows Bridge drivers who didn’t pay at the toll booths or have a Good To Go! account were sent a $52 ticket. Now, drivers have 80 days to pay the toll before receiving a notice of civil penalty.

If you want to dispute a penalty, you will find a more customer friendly dispute-resolution process – and more revenue goes back to the bridges. Under the old process, only $12 of the $52 infraction went back to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The new program allows us to put collected tolls, fees and penalties back into paying for each bridge.

 

What is a notice of civil penalty?

A civil penalty includes more than just the toll. After 80 days, owners of registered vehicles must pay the toll, a $40 penalty and any additional fees.

Let’s say you crossed the SR 520 bridge during the peak commute time without a Good To Go! account. We’ll mail a bill to the driver within 14 days.  Those who don’t pay within 15 days get a second bill with a $5 reprocessing fee. The longer you wait, the costlier it gets. Drivers with unpaid tolls receive a notice of civil penalty and a $40 fine in addition to the late fee for each toll left unpaid after 80 days.

Example of how tolls can add up:
    First bill: $5 toll = $5 total
    Second bill: $5 toll + $5 reprocessing fee = $10 total
    Notice of Civil Penalty: $5 toll + $5 reprocessing fee + $40 civil penalty = $50 total

 

What should I do if receive a civil penalty?

Similar to a parking ticket, you shouldn’t ignore your penalty. If you receive a notice you have two options: pay or dispute. If you don’t believe you’re responsible for the penalty you can dispute in writing or request a hearing. Hearings will take place at a public court in Fife or at the Good To Go! customer service center off I-5 in north Seattle.

Unlike traffic court, toll enforcement judges are unable to reduce penalty amounts. They can only make a judgment on whether the vehicle owner is responsible for the tolls or not. Watch our video on YouTube to learn more about the dispute process.

 

Avoid receiving a civil penalty in the future

It’s easy to avoid additional fees or a civil penalty:

• Keep your eyes open for a toll bill in the mail about 14 days after using a tolled bridge.
• Make sure to pay your first toll bill within 15 days of receiving it.
• Double-check your info with the Department of Licensing to confirm your address is current since tolls bills are sent to the registered vehicle owner.

You can choose not to receive a toll bill in the mail by signing up for a Good To Go! account. No bill plus you’ll get the lowest toll rate.

 

Questions?

As always, please call us at 1-866-936-8246 if you have questions about toll charges. We’re here to help.

Mention tolls and a lot of drivers think of waiting in line to hand over cash to an attendant in a booth. But thanks to technology there are no tollbooths on SR 520 – it is all-electronic, video tolling. Most frequent SR 520 flyers have a Good To Go! pass and account so toll paying is easier than ever.

But how do snowbirds returning from spending the winter in Arizona or other out-of-town visitors pay for tolls when they cross the SR 520 bridge? With video tolling, a camera on the bridge snaps license plate photos and mails a toll bill and processing fee to the vehicle owner. You can also choose to add your out-of-town guest’s license plate to your account while they are in town to have their tolls deducted from your Good To Go! account. Visitors can set up their own Short Term Account for their trip to Seattle. It’s that easy.

O.K., so it’s not always that easy. A twitter comment we received was how come Europe has been successfully tolling for dozens of years and we can’t seem to get it right? Well, again, it is not that simple. Since most drivers in our state are new to all-electronic tolling—we are new to it, too—there is a learning curve for everyone involved.

While technology has brought us all-electronic tolling and easier ways to pay, it has also brought us the typical system bugs and quirks of any new system. Whether it is a driver receiving a toll bill for another state’s plate or a driver unintentionally getting a 25-cent charge because the sensor couldn’t read their pass, the system, while 99.9 percent accurate, is not error free.

With 60,000 to 70,000 cars currently using the SR 520 bridge each day, there will certainly be processes that do not go right for some reason or another. These recurring bugs and one-time system glitches will happen for a percentage of transactions and customers every day this is something we expected and one of the reasons we have customer service representatives available in person or on the phone to answer questions. 

So, when snowbirds or other guest comes to town tell them to go ahead and cross the bridge but keep their change because with new tolling technology they’ll know that the bill is in the mail even if they live in another state.

Let us know your technology questions and take a look at this animation video that gives you a better idea on how our video toll system works.

by guest blogger Victoria Tobin

It’s been nearly a month since we began tolling the SR 520 bridge. And every day since then we’ve kept a keen eye on traffic patterns. Not just on SR 520 and I-90, but the entire region – I-5, I-405, and even that Mercer Weave across the Ship Canal Bridge. We’re watching it all. The common denominator is, it’s all changing nearly every day.

This is the biggest traffic change we’ve had in Puget Sound in decades. Drivers are still figuring it out. While it’s too early to draw conclusions with firm percentages, we are obviously seeing more congestion on I-90 and less congestion on SR 520. But that’s what we expected. Here’s another fact - we had more people cross SR 520 on Wednesday, Jan. 25, than any other day since tolling began. You can see how the numbers are still in flux and people are making their way back to SR 520.

While we’d like to be able to say that after a month of tolling we’re finally starting to see the beginning of the “new normal” in terms of traffic patterns, we just can’t yet. The reality is, we’ve only been able to collect about 12 reliable days of traffic data in the last month. There have been too many unpredictable variables (collisions on SR 520 and a stalled semi-tanker on I-90, just to name a few) that have altered the traffic data we’re collecting.

Since tolling started we’ve had three separate holidays, a week-long snow and ice storm and we are still cleaning up after heavy winds – there were numerous collisions, construction work and the post-holiday traffic rush – all variables that have changed and affected traffic all over the region and have had a significant impact on what we’d typically call “normal traffic patterns.” As a result, traffic volumes were way down across the region, not just on the floating bridges.

This is the first week since tolling began where traffic volumes are getting back to more “normal” levels. You (the twitterverse) see it too, and you’ve been tweeting and facebooking us, wanting to know what’s going on. We believe traffic will keep changing, across I-90, across SR 520, on I-5 and even on your local buses for the next few days, weeks and months. We expect people will continue to tweak  their routes and times to find something that works for their schedule, like they’ve done since tolling started.

It’s still too soon to make any changes and draw big conclusions. One thing we know is that traffic throughout the greater Puget Sound region is all interconnected. A change in one place causes a ripple effect across the region and not always where you might expect. It’s probably going to take upwards of six months before commutes really start to settle out and we finally reach that new normal.

That all said, it would be interesting to hear and know what your commute has been like since tolling started. Have you tried different routes? Changed your commute times? Tried taking the bus or carpooling? Are you working from home? What has or hasn’t seemed to work for you?

Your comments will be factored in as we work through this change. Thanks!

If you have questions or concerns regarding a toll bill, civil penalty or Good To Go! account please call 1-866-936-8246 or email GoodToGo@GoodToGo.wsdot.wa.gov.

by guest blogger Joe Irwin

Snapshot of the work at the SR 520 Pontoon Construction site

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Aberdeen goes around the world.

Working with our contractor Kiewit-General this week, we installed a webcam at the SR 520 Pontoon Construction site, providing people everywhere a peek at one of the state's mega projects.

The camera takes photos every 10 minutes at the site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can watch the work happen as it happens – which will include everything from excavation of a casting basin large enough to hold an aircraft carrier to construction of floating bridge pontoons the length of football fields.

The website will store all these photos, so you can also turn back the clock to view previous work on the job – hours, months or years after it occurred. You can also use the time lapse function, which takes a photo each day, to watch months and even years of construction whiz by in just a few minutes. A photo calendar provides an additional tool, giving a way to scan the project a month at a time and key in on certain dates of interest.
Work started at the 55-acre site on Grays Harbor in February, and since then we, along with K-G, have been busy clearing, dewatering and driving 900 steel piles 135 feet into the ground to construct the foundation for the pontoon casting basin.

Excavation of the 4-acre basin starts the week of April 18, and requires crews to remove upward of 260,000 cubic yards of material. As sections of foundation piles are driven and dirt is excavated, workers will begin placing concrete for the basin.

We are on track to start constructing 33 pontoons this July that will be used to form the backbone of a new SR 520 floating bridge. The pontoons will be built in six cycles with the final cycle being completed in May 2014.

From guest blogger Jeff Switzer

Sideways rain in Grays Harbor last weekend couldn’t stop more than 200 people from cheering the start of construction on the SR 520 pontoon project in Aberdeen. Gusts from the coast that roared up Saturday only underscored the need for project everyone was celebrating: The aging SR 520 floating bridge on Lake Washington is vulnerable to windstorms and we are going to replace it.

The 33 pontoons – giant floating concrete boxes – to be built in Aberdeen starting this year will form the backbone of a replacement bridge.

Local carpenters and trades workers turned out to celebrate, saying they’re ready to start earning paychecks on the project. We’ve been working hard to get started on construction, and Grays Harbor is eager for the work. The $367 million project will ramp up to 300 direct construction jobs later this year.

Work starts this week on a casting basin – a big bathtub of a work zone on Grays Harbor. The basin will be connected to the water so new pontoons – many as long as a football field – can be built in the basin, floated out and towed to Seattle. They’ll each be three stories tall and narrow enough to fit through the Ballard Locks when complete. Some of the 33 new pontoons will weigh 11,000 tons each – as much as 23 Boeing 747s.

Take a look at our step-by-step guide to building a floating bridge to see what we have planned starting in 2012.

The same windstorm that hit the coast this weekend also sent high winds hammering the SR 520 floating bridge, giving a timely reminder why building a new bridge is so important. Since 1993, we’ve repaired about 30,000 feet of cracks in the pontoons to keep the bridge afloat and safe for traffic – but it’s time to build a stronger replacement bridge. It’s scheduled to open to traffic by the end of 2014.

Check out the Flickr photos, our YouTube video or our project page for more about the project.

by guest blogger Kris Olsen

Imagine going all over the country, exploring places that are usually off limits to the general public. A film crew shooting a documentary for The Travel Channel was in town recently to explore the inner workings of the SR 520 bridge - the longest floating bridge in the world. Our crews love doing this kind of thing. They are so proud of their bridges. Bridge superintendent Archie Allen did the show-and-tell with a six -person film crew and show host Don Wildman. Outfitted with a microphone, Archie took the crew to mid-span where a boat waited for us. We cruised down the side of the bridge to a spot under the east highrise and then plunged into a pontoon to show them anchor cables, water sensors and how the heck we keep a concrete bridge afloat!

View more photos on our Flickr site.

They shot scenes from different angles, asking Archie and the host to repeat their conversations, take the same walk and show the same cable or hatch door multiple times. The show’s producer was impressed with Archie’s ability to explain things repeatedly and make it sound new and interesting during every take. (We attribute that to Archie’s overall enthusiasm for everything about his bridge!)

This Travel Channel crew spends up to three weeks on the road at a time, working 12 hour days for six days straight, living out of suitcases and schlepping lots of gear through airports around the country. Wildman was excited to tour the bridge. “I love doing stuff like this,” he said. “I get to meet people, go places and see things that most people don’t.” Archie said the crew was easy to work with and the host seemed genuinely interested in the bridge. He thought it was neat that a TV show is highlighting an area of Seattle that’s not one of the usual spots like Pike Place Market. “There are things like our floating bridges that are kind of unique to the city and in turn make our city unique,” Archie said.

The Seattle episode of “Forbidden Access” featuring the floating bridge is tentatively scheduled to air in September.