Toll road proposal to get airing

Bridge tolls disappeared in Washington state when the last one was removed from Spokane’s Maple Street Bridge in 1990.

But if the Washington State Transportation Commission gets its way, the state Legislature may soon approve new tolling projects to pay for some highway and bridge projects, including Snoqualmie Pass.

Spokane-area residents can learn more about the proposal at an open house tonight at CenterPlace in Spokane Valley.

The state has already approved a $3 toll on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge in western Washington when it opens next year.

And the state will be testing whether requiring drivers to pay a toll to use the high occupancy lanes on Highway 167 in the Puget Sound area would reduce congestion.

Some projects are more conducive to tolls than others.

The North Spokane Corridor is not one of them, said Washington State Department of Transportation Eastern Region Director Jerry Lenzi.

It’s unlikely a toll to raise the money to build that project would generate enough income because the toll would have to be too high – $35 to $40 – and drivers would have too many other free options to get from Interstate 90 to north Spokane, like Division and Nevada streets, Lenzi said.

That was one of the reasons the toll remained on the Maple Street Bridge for so long: Not enough people were taking the bridge to pay off the debt incurred in building it.

About 13,000 cars a day paid 25 cents in 1990 to drive one way across the bridge, he said.

Then the state removed the toll and paid the remainder of the debt.

“Within three weeks there were 38,000 people using that corridor, which tells you those people were going down Division, Wall or Monroe to avoid the toll,” Lenzi said.

Tolls can work in places where there aren’t alternate routes.

In the Tacoma Narrows Bridge case, drivers would have to travel 100 to 175 miles out of their way to avoid the toll.

Snoqualmie Pass is another example of a route that doesn’t have an easy alternative.

There will be no formal presentation at tonight’s open house, so people can arrive at any time, said Lisa Woolery of Frank Wilson and Associates, which conducted the study for the commission.

Public comments will also be collected.