Bert Caldwell: Paying a toll for a troubled bridge over crowded waters

Eastern Washington residents take the Interstate 90 bridge across Lake Washington into Seattle. That’s the direct route, and reaching the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge a few miles north involves a detour through ever-congested Bellevue.

There is no charge to cross either bridge. That will change, maybe soon.

Washington Treasurer Michael Murphy says tolls on both bridges will be needed to finance replacement of Evergreen Point, more commonly know as the Highway 520 bridge. If state officials refuse to collect a toll on I-90, he will not sell bonds to finance the $4.4 billion project.

Murphy means business. When litigation raised questions about the voter initiative that funded Qwest Stadium, he delayed the sale of bonds worth $100 million despite the possibility the project would not be completed by opening day 2002.

The lawsuit was trivial compared with the 520 financial challenges.

A study released last month concludes that revenues generated by a toll only on that bridge will fall as much as 33 percent short of covering payments on a potential $2.7 billion bond issue. Commuters with the option of beating a daily toll on 520 of perhaps $10 will buck the Bellevue traffic over to I-90, creating what Murphy describes as a “parking lot.”

He says he cannot, and will not, sell bonds knowing the state does not have the revenues to service the debt.

“You never want to issue bonds that have a cloud hanging over them,” Murphy says.

Collecting a toll on I-90 lifts the cloud, unless you count the scowls of Eastern Washington drivers who might be headed to a Mariners game, for example.

But gasoline tax increases in 2003 and 2005, which last year lifted revenues to more than $1 billion for the first time, still fall far short of producing enough new revenue to keep up with the higher costs of steel, concrete and other materials.

The state’s 20-year transportation plan identifies $67 billion in needed transportation projects, but only $29 billion available for those investments.

The driving habits of folks like Murphy do not help.

He lives less than two miles away from his office, and owns two Prius hybrids. Thousands like him in Washington are buying less gas, and paying less tax. With gas prices at $3 per gallon or higher, California a week ago reported gas consumption fell in 2006 despite an increase in the number of vehicles.

A tolling study released in September projects a decline in Washington gas tax revenues starting in 2009.

Tolls, where practical, are going to backfill that gap, and provide additional new money as well. None are now levied in Washington, but they have been in the past. Users of the Maple Street Bridge paid a dime for the privilege until 1990. That was the last of several bridge tolls to be removed.

They will be back with the opening later this year of the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Although the level has not yet been set — the Transportation Commission reviewed the matter again last week — a figure on the order of $3 has been discussed, with gradual increases to $6.

A toll is also planned for a “hot lane” on State Route 167 between Renton and Auburn. The lane will open next year.

Drivers on the bridge and hot lane will be able to use pre-paid “Good to Go” passes that eliminate the need to stop at a toll booth. The passes also allow tolls to be adjusted up or down as needed to alleviate congestion.

The technology is nifty. Washington drivers will not likely be impressed. Tolls are a tax and, at least on I-90, would be imposed where there may be no immediate investment in an improved highway. Murphy is unapologetic about his position, and says response so far has been positive.

“We were attempting to explain the hard truth about raising money for public projects,” he says.

Not only is there willingness to pay a toll, he says, there is support for an early start. Collecting tolls before work gets under way will reduce the ultimate financing costs.

Although Murphy expects another toll to pay for new bridges over the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland, he says none would be practical for the North-South Freeway in Spokane. As was the case with the Maple Street Bridge, there are just too many alternative routes available to those for whom “Good to Go” means no tolls at all.

For a project decades behind schedule and in need of another $3 billion for completion, that may mean some very slow going.