520

Toll collection began uneventfully Thursday (2011-12-29)  on the WA520 bridge over Lake Washington east of Seattle. Wednesday had seen a record day of motorists - about 6,000 - establishing new 'Good to Go' brand sticker tag transponder accounts to pay the tolls. At exactly 5am according to local reports the orange on black toll rate signs went from $0.00 to $1.60 as the first charges kicked in.

Washington state is having a rough start-up to tolling the 520 bridge. They transitioned to a new customer service contractor Feb 14, and their marketing generated much more telephone call demand for new transponders than they could handle.

Plans to reimpose tolls on at least one of two major Seattle area bridges are moving forward with political and public support. Tolls would begin in 2010 on the existing WA520 over Lake Washington to provide funds for major reconstruction and some extra lanes, and for traffic management to allow freer flow and improved speeds. The tolls would continue when the new and improved bridge opened in around 2016.