Crews continue making progress on design modifications to four Cycle 1 pontoons built in Aberdeen. Design modifications on two pontoons were completed in dry docks last summer. The other two pontoons are being repaired on Lake Washington using a coffer cell to create a dry work environment.

The design modification work involves epoxy injections into pontoon cracks greater than .006 inches, crystalline waterproofing smaller cracks, transverse post-tensioning, and application of carbon-fiber wrap.

Last week crews completed repairs on the first of four ends of the remaining two massive, concrete pontoons that will help support the new SR 520 floating bridge. From inside a nearly 660-ton coffer cell attached to Pontoon V, construction workers completed crack repairs on one end of the 360-foot-long structure. After placing the coffer cell on the pontoon’s other end, crews began the next round of repairs on Thursday, Jan. 30.

While crews repair these cracks, they also take the opportunity to repair other construction anomalies previously identified during dive inspections of the pontoons. Some of these involve sections where steel rebar is exposed to water. To conduct these repairs, crews remove the concrete to expose the rebar and clean the steel with brushes and sandblasting. Workers then prepare the area for sealing by applying a special bonding agent to the cleaned rebar and surrounding concrete, followed by layers of a high-strength grout, and finally two to four layers of carbon-fiber wrap to help ensure a waterproof repair.

The procedures were developed by an outside expert and reviewed by WSDOT to ensure that the new, six-lane floating bridge lasts at least 75 years with standard maintenance along the way. We anticipate that the design modifications on these two remaining pontoons on Lake Washington will be complete this spring.

A message from Secretary Lynn Peterson

WSDOT has been in the news a lot lately regarding Bertha and the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program and more recently, the 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program.

Some of that coverage has been light hearted and other coverage has been more serious and raised concerns about WSDOT’s management of our mega projects.

Our projects are complex. No other city or state in the nation has projects like these going on. We are building the widest bored tunnel in the world and one of the largest floating bridges in the world. We need these projects to improve how our residents commute to work, home and play.

As each of us knows, projects encounter obstacles. How many of us have been involved in a project – big or small; at home or at work – and have encountered setbacks? Our projects are no different; they are just bigger and in the public eye. What defines our agency and how our public views us is how we manage through these challenges. That’s what counts. That’s what matters.

We’ve made mistakes. Our 520 bridge pontoon design error resulted in depleting the majority of contingency funds for that project. I spoke about that on Wednesday. We are doing what we can to manage that error. We’ve identified existing funding sources to cover these costs and keep the project on track. At this time, we don’t foresee the need for any changes in tax rates, fees or toll rates to cover the increased costs from contract change orders.

Bertha is stopped. We knew she would encounter challenges as she makes her way north. We planned for obstacles in our budget. WSDOT has been transparent about how hard this tunneling work is and it will continue to be. I’m impressed by the public’s knowledge and interest in not only the project, but in Bertha herself. People asked me “How’s she doing?” not long after tunneling stopped. The answer is: Bertha will be fine.

I understand people’s fear that these large, visible projects will become a statistic and that we will make national headlines for failure. Failure is not an option. We need these projects to be successful to better serve you – our residents. We will continue to manage them well, be accountable, celebrate our successes and be transparent about our challenges.

WSDOT strives for transparency with the media and the public and this makes our agency and valued employees vulnerable to negativity. Transparency is hard and it doesn’t always feel good, but it’s the right thing. We can’t just talk about our successes. We – WSDOT, our employees and the public – need to talk about everything transportation related. The more you are engaged, the more you understand the opportunities and challenges we face as an agency and as a transportation system both now and in the future.

WSDOT has a responsibility to be good stewards of transportation dollars. We’ve made – and continue to make – changes (pdf) to how we do business to ensure efficiencies are made, that we manage well through our challenges and we ensure your tax dollars are accounted for and well spent.

August 2013 marks the 50th birthday of the SR 520 floating bridge on Lake Washington. Throughout the month we’re taking a look back at the history of the bridge, as well as the places it connects and the people who use it.

The Evergreen Point Bridge, its original name when it opened five decades ago (and before it was named for former governor Albert D. Rossellini), was built in a different era. Prior to 520, drivers had just one crossing across Lake Washington – the original Lake Washington Floating Bridge. And prior to that, you either drove around or hitched a ride on one of many ferries traversing the lake. Today’s quick trek across the lake was once a day’s (or more!) journey.

520 construction began in 1960, lasted through the 1962 World’s Fair, and opened on Aug. 28, 1963, the same day as Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.

Aerial view of west approach bridge construction in 1962. Bridge piers were built in Lake Washington prior to adding the superstructure and roadway. Photo credit: City of Seattle Municipal Archives

Each winter, significant wind and wave action takes its toll on the existing SR 520 floating bridge, requiring WSDOT to perform regular inspections and maintenance.

Over the next 50 years, the 520 bridge has been through a lot. It’s endured decades of winter storms and wave action and closes for safety when sustained winds reach 50 mph. The 1993 Inaugural Day storm ravaged Puget Sound with winds reaching 94 mph and closed the bridge for several days. It’s been tolled, untolled, and tolled once again. It’s been hit by a barge. It’s had cables strung through its pontoons for additional post-tensioning.

During the 2008 Seafair Marathon, thousands of runners crossed the SR 520 floating bridge, filling its two eastbound lanes to capacity.

But through it all, the bridge’s work ethic remains strong. SR 520 is still the world’s longest floating bridge, and it still carries thousands more cars per day than it was designed to accommodate in the 1960s. Sometimes it even takes a break from car traffic: 520 hosted the Seafair Marathon in 2008!

Retirement is the next step, as crews continue work to assemble the new SR 520 floating bridge on Lake Washington, featuring a bicycle/pedestrian path, new transit/HOV lanes, and wider, safer shoulders.

This visualization of the new SR 520 floating bridge looking east shows the bridge’s new transit/HOV lanes, bicycle/pedestrian path, wider shoulders, and sentinel architectural features.

The new floating bridge’s opening is on the horizon, and the bridge is expected to serve the region for 75 years or more. While it’s never easy seeing one’s replacement come onboard, today’s bridge can rest assured that it will be remembered and celebrated as a vital connection across decades of growth and development in the region.

Happy Birthday, SR 520 Bridge!

Those are our memories. What are yours? We’d love to hear from you. Hitch a ride on 520 Memory Lane to share your fondest 520 memory as a story, poem, photo or video. We’ll be posting them regularly throughout the month of August.

SR 520 toll rates are increasing 2.5 percent Sunday, July 1.
We’re hearing one of two reactions to this news:

• Why are you raising SR 520 toll rates when traffic has dropped off?
• Why not lower the toll rates? Won’t that generate more revenue?

So here are some answers to your burning questions.

We’re on track! SR 520 bridge traffic is actually higher than forecast
It’s true that traffic has dropped on SR 520 floating bridge since tolling started –we expected that to happen. In fact, we were prepared to see SR 520 traffic to decrease by nearly 50 percent after tolls started. But the drop hasn’t been that big.  Between January and March -traffic was 57 percent of pre-toll levels, a 43 percent drop. SR 520 had even more drivers in March – traffic was 62 percent of pre-toll levels, a 38 percent drop. We’re also seeing revenue six percent higher than our original forecast.

Why not lower rates?
We sold $550 million in bonds last fall and that funding is already paying for SR 520 construction. Tolling will raise more than $1 billion to help replace the vulnerable SR 520 floating bridge. So we are carefully following our financial plan and this rate increase is part of that.  The financial plan also includes four more annual increases of 2.5 percent through 2015 but the transportation commission will be reviewing traffic and revenue data each year to determine if the planned increases are necessary and the amount.

Traffic on SR 520 is free flow for the first time in decades and we’re on track with revenue. Still, many drivers suggest that lowering toll rates will bring in more revenue. It might seem counterintuitive, but a lower toll rate doesn't necessarily mean more revenue. Instead, it could mean congestion. For example, if the toll rate was reduced by 50 percent, twice as many vehicles would need to pay a toll to make the same amount of revenue. That means traffic volumes would need to be higher than before tolling started!

Curious about how SR 520 tolls are doing? Read SR 520’s toll first financial statement. We’ll continue to post future financial statements online too – just like we do for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and SR 167 HOT Lanes.

It has been an interesting week with tolling. We thought we’d take a minute to provide a little more insight and background on a few of the issues that made the rounds.

Unintentional fees
We unintentionally charged some customers additional 25-cent fees for crossing the SR 520 bridge.  A system glitch caused the toll sensors to read a Good To Go! pass and a license plate on the same vehicle as two separate transactions, which lead to an unwarranted $0.25 Pay By Plate fee, duplicate or over-axle charges. We are sincerely sorry about those charges and will be issuing credits to affected customers’ accounts.

What is an inactive fee?
There also were a few stories about the $5 inactive-account fee that we have in place. It’s exactly what it sounds like. If a Good To Go! account hasn’t had any activity on it for two years, we’ll make two attempts to reach a customer. If we can’t reach them we charge $5, close the account and issue a check for the remaining balance. Customers can close their account at any time and be issued a full refund of the remaining balance without a $5 fee. Charging the inactive account holder is the fairest way to cover the costs for this. The $5 charge includes the cost for locating the account holder, generating and mailing two statements, issuing a check for the remaining balance on the account and maintaining the inactive account for two years.

Where is my $10 for signing up early?
We’ve also heard from customers who want to know what happened to their $10 incentive. Before tolling started on SR 520, we offered customers who signed up early a $10 incentive if signed up before April 15, 2011. Now that tolling has started, they’re wondering why they haven’t seen the credit yet. It should be on your monthly statement for January, which should be arriving soon. Something else noteworthy about the incentive is that it’s only good for three months after tolling started. The credits will expire at the end of March if they’re not used up before then.

What is Pay By Plate?
We offer Pay By Plate accounts to customers who want to pay the lowest toll rate without having to buy and install passes on every vehicle listed on their account. It’s great for rarely driven cars, cars with metallic windshields, classic cars and your out-of-town visitor’s cars. You simply register the license plate and a photo is taken of the plate when crossing the SR 520 or Tacoma Narrows bridges. We charge a 25-cent fee because while the license plate recognition software is good, it’s not perfect, and some photos require us to review it and match the plate to an account. This takes time and money.

Unfortunately, with a tolling system that generates tens of thousands of transactions every single day, we will probably have a few more issues that pop up as we move forward. We’ll continue to be diligent about responding them as quickly and courteously as possible. And, if you notice something that’s not right, please don’t hesitate to contact our customer service center right away. We want to work with you to get it resolved. Thank you for your patience thus far.

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.