Seattle Times documents the long-awaited certainty — and provides a nifty infographic:
Drivers on the old Highway 520 floating bridge will begin to pay tolls at 5 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29, the Washington State Department of Transportation just announced.
Tolls will vary so they will be highest at busy times of day, peaking at $3.50 each way during morning and afternoon peak commute hours. Motorists who lack the “Good to Go” debit account, available at goodtogo.org, will be billed by mail and charged an extra $1.50 handling fee. There are no toll booths to pay cash on Highway 520.
For those of you who drive to the Eastside from the Hill, what’s your game plan? Joining the bus brigade? Or will Toll Avoider rule your day?
In the meanwhile, you can see the latest designs for the I-5 Medina portion of the 520 replacement project Wednesday night in Montlake:
SR 520 Bridge Program: Seattle Community Design ProcessWhat is the Seattle Community Design Process?We launched a public engagement process to further refine the basic features of the I-5 to Medina project through a collaborative urban and sustainable design process. We are gathering agency and broader community feedback on comprehensive, livable and sustainable design methods to be applied to the Seattle side of the SR 520 corridor.
Join us at our next public session:
Wednesday, Dec. 7
4-7 p.m.
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
2700 24th Ave. East Seattle, WA 98112
Note that you can register your plate and deposit a modest sum in a “Good to Go” account, for 520 ONLY, and then only get charged 25 cents more than the electronic pass rate, rather than the $1.50 surcharge for billing of an un-registered plate.
” Drivers may set up a pre-paid Good To Go! account by purchasing and activating a Pass that mounts in your vehicle, or by registering your license plate for photo identification, called Pay By Plate. “
“Pay By Plate – Vehicles that use Pay By Plate on the SR 520 Bridge will be charged the posted Good To Go! toll rate plus a $0.25 fee per transaction.”
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/GoodToGo/faq.htm#accounts
i like the lid design.. will make it quieter.
let’s buy that one!
with a play ground!
Thanks, Andrew!
If you get the cheapest sticker, it costs less than pay by plate after about 11 round trips. Since I have to go to Kirkland about once a month, I’ll break even in about a year.
Like most government/utility websites, setting up a GoodToGo account is extremely tedious, with ambiguous instructions, annoying password requirements and asinine security questions.
How does this work for rental and zip cars? I don’t have a car of my own, but may conceivably drive across the 520 in a rental or Zipcar. Is there any way to purchase a pass, or will I have to pay the $1.50 surcharge, or will they even find me at all given that the license plate won’t be linked to me?
Zipcar has already addressed this in their FAQ: http://www.zipcar.com/how/faqs/faq?subject=tolls
Most rental companies have pretty clear policies around people going through toll roads in their car. It’s not like the 520 is the first toll road in America.