A group of elected officials and Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond will meet in Kirkland today to kick off a summer-long study of the feasibility of implementing express toll lanes on I-405 and SR 167.

The public is invited to attend the meeting and offer brief comments to the group, from 1-4 p.m. at in the Peter Kirk Room at Kirkland City Hall, 123 Fifth Avenue in Kirkland.

The Washington State Legislature included a proviso in the 2009 transportation budget (Senate Bill 5352) directing WSDOT to engage local jurisdictions and the public in a series of work sessions around the feasibility of implementing express toll lanes as part of improvements to I-405 and SR 167.

An executive advisory group, which includes Hammond and the elected officials, will meet at least four times through October. WSDOT also will host several public meetings and events throughout the corridor to gather public testimony for an Eastside Corridor Tolling Study report that will be delivered to the Governor and the Legislature in January 2010.

The meeting agenda includes background on the I-405 and SR 167 corridor programs, an overview of national tolling projects, and information on the work plan for the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study.

More information about tolling in Washington is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/operations/tolling/