The following is a release from the Washington State Department of Transportation:
The Interstate 405 express toll lanes will be free and open to all drivers on nights, weekends, and six major holidays starting at 7 p.m. on March 18, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
“We worked closely with the Washington State Transportation Commission to determine hours of operation that would maintain reliability for the I-405 commuters making millions of trips in the express toll lanes since they opened last September,” said WSDOT Assistant Secretary of Tolling Patty Rubstello. “We believe the new hours will still allow us to provide a faster, more predictable trip to transit, carpools and toll-paying customers when they need it most, while balancing traffic across all lanes during off-peak times, like nights and weekends.”
In February, Governor Jay Inslee and the state legislature directed WSDOT to make changes to the I-405 express toll lanes system, including the hours of operations. After careful evaluation, the Transportation Commission voted today to enact an emergency rulemaking to carry out regulatory changes to tolling policies that the express toll lanes should only operate on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“To date, commuters’ experience with the 405 express toll lanes has been a mixed bag – the lanes have resulted in shorter commute times for some drivers and transit users, but for others, the opposite has happened,” Inslee said. “That’s why I announced over a dozen improvements in February that will provide traffic relief including lifting tolls on nights, weekends and holidays, a step that I appreciate the Transportation Commission taking quick action on today. More positive change is on the way. Our new transportation budget funds additional incident response trucks throughout Puget Sound, improved customer service and new capacity on 405 that will help alleviate congestion at some of the worst chokepoints. In the meantime, WSDOT is already moving ahead with other changes such as better striping and access points so we can improve toll lane operations for all users.”
“We appreciate the support of the governor, legislature and WSDOT as we work together to lessen the burden on the driving public of I-405 and the express toll lanes,” said Commission Chairman Anne Haley.
