How much will you pay to cross the Tacoma Narrows bridge? You can have a say on tolls
Many Puget Sound drivers will see a reduction in their eastbound Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll bill in October, but policymakers are asking for public input as to which vehicles should be eligible for the discount.
The Washington State Transportation Commission has created a web page that asks the state’s drivers whether a 75-cent toll reduction should apply to vehicles with more than two axles. The commission offers people three options: only apply the reduction to vehicles with two axles like most passenger cars and pickups; apply the reduction to all vehicles but keep the reduction steady at 75 cents regardless of how many axles a vehicle has; or reduce the toll based on how many axles a vehicle has, discounting up to a $2.25 for a vehicle with six or more axles.
Online voting opened earlier this month and will stay open until the end of June. In addition to asking Washington residents which of the three axle options they prefer, the questionnaire has optional fields for additional comments, Narrows-use frequency, and demographic information. Drivers also have the option to submit feedback via phone, email or testimony at a later virtual commission meeting.
According to its website, the commission will meet in July, review the public input and financial analyses and choose a preliminary option. After another month of public feedback, the commission will make its final decision at a hearing.
When the reduction is implemented on Oct. 1, 2-axle vehicle drivers will pay $4.50, $5.50 or $6.50 depending on their payment mode. Depending on how the committee rules, 6-axle semi-truck drivers with Good to Go! passes could pay between $13.50 and $15.75 per eastbound trip.
Some trucking advocates believe it is unfair for the commission to offer voters options besides the per-axle reduction. Sheri Call, president and CEO of the Olympia-based nonprofit Washington Trucking Association, said the industry already pays disproportionately high fees for highway use.
“In general, trucking needs a break right now,” she said in a phone call with The News Tribune. “We pay 35 percent of all highway taxes collected, and we’re about 10 percent of vehicle miles traveled. So I think anything less than rate reductions in line with the way rates are assessed would be unacceptable to us.”
The reduction comes as part of legislation sponsored by seven Democratic state senators. The bill, which Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law in March, rearranges how the state will pay its loan for the $1.5 billion construction costs of the eastbound bridge. Since 2007, nearly all of the bill has been paid by tolls. Now, with the new legislation, the state’s general fund will cover $130 million of the $770 million still owed, and the remainder will stay allocated to people driving over the eastbound bridge.
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.