Toll Collection and Rates

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will collect tolls when you are traveling in both directions across the SR-520 Bridge. Electronic tolling equipment will be installed on overhead gantries at the east high-rise of the SR-520 Bridge and will read your Good to Go! pass or scan your license plate as you travel at normal highway speeds.

You can pay the toll in one of three ways:

1. Set up a prepaid Good To Go! account and purchase a pass to mount in your vehicle.

2. Set up a prepaid Good To Go! account and register your vehicle license plate for photo identification. With this option you would be assessed a $0.25 surcharge per transaction.

3. Have a toll bill sent to the address where your vehicle is registered. With this option you would be assessed a $1.50 surcharge per transaction.

The minimum opening balance for all Good To Go! accounts is $30. How often you intend to drive across the SR-520 Bridge will influence which payment option you choose.

Your toll rate will vary according to the time of day, the day of the week, and how you pay. View the Good To Go! User Guide for an overview of SR-520 tolling. See proposed rates and full tolling details at www.goodtogo520.org. 

Tolling Policy for Microsoft Employees

For those of you that are Microsoft employees, here are some details on policy related to this. Employees are prohibited from seeking reimbursement for day-to-day commute expenses, to or from work. Likewise, managers are prohibited from approving such reimbursement. Microsoft will, however, reimburse toll charges for legitimate business travel. Please consult internal Microsoft Policy for more information and to learn what constitutes legitimate business travel.

Get Ready Now for Tolling on the SR-520 Bridge

· Receive E-Mail Updates: Sign up for e-mail updates at www.goodtogo520.org to receive information regarding rates, account options, special offers, and customer service resources.

· Purchase a Pass: Create a Good To Go! account and purchase a pass from WSDOT before tolling begins:

o Visit the Good To Go! website. This is the fastest and most convenient option.

o Stop by a participating Safeway store to buy a pass and then go online to create an account.

o Drop by a WSDOT walk-in or mobile customer service center.

o Purchase by phone at 1-866-936-8246.

If you activate a Good To Go! pass by April 15, 2011 you will receive $10 in free tolls for the SR-520 Bridge.

Information

You can explore bus options by using the King County Metro Trip Planner.

For questions about tolling on the SR-520 Bridge, or to give feedback, please contact the Washington State Department of Transportation by calling 1-888-G2G-WSDOT (1-888-424-9736) or emailing goodtogo@wsdot.wa.gov.

Is it going to take a complete collapse to prove how much the Viaduct needs to be replaced? Accept the fact that it is going to cost billions no matter if you build it in the air, on the ground, or dig a tunnel. Do nothing at all and it will cost lives and then it will cost a bunch of money times two.

I would like to see some of the money we spend on studies spent on tangible things that will solve real problems. I don’t need another consultant to tell me that the viaduct is going to fall; I need a guy in a hard hat pouring cement to fix the problem.

We don’t need politicians lobbying for better solutions (read there solutions) just so they can claim the new Viaduct as a personal legacy. One of these days someone is going to have the legacy of not doing anything leading to the death of many who needed them to do something.

On a more personal note in 1995 (and every year since then) I sent mail to the Washington DOT asking if they could mark the lanes on I-90 with something more than Crayon. I don’t know about you but during a good rain I feel as if I am driving with a grey bag over my head. I think some basic safety items such as painted stripes or the occasional “City Titty” (traffic reflector for the un-educated) could not cost that much compared to the lives it might save.

The state of Washington is paralyzed with fear of doing the wrong thing, so it does nothing. The government is so large that it and its taxpayers are being crushed by its own weight. The state continues to raise taxes without reducing government, and when it has a chance to make a difference it chooses to sit on the fence. (one that is leaning and cracking)

In business that type of employee would be identified as a under performer and they would be managed out. That review comes around every November, and no action from our leaders will force its citizens to take action.

I wonder if the Seattle Mayor would like to relocate City Hall under the viaduct.