Drivers on the Highway 520 floating bridge over Lake Washington could be paying tolls by spring.
The Washington State Transportation Commission set the ball in motion Tuesday by formally proposing toll rates. They are to be finalized in January, after a series of public hearings.
The tolls will be used to begin the process of paying for a replacement of the 47-year-old bridge, which links Seattle and Bellevue. The state eventually plans to issue bonds backed by those tolls.
The commission’s preliminary tolling plan calls for variable toll rates based on traffic, with a peak toll of $3.50 in each direction, according to a Seattle Times report.
Anti-tax advocate Tim Eyman threatened to challenge the imposition of tolls, according to the Times. Eyman said a successful ballot measure he sponsored in this month’s election demands that such a toll be voted on by the Legislature.
