Proposed toll lanes are creating headaches for lawmakers
OLYMPIA — The state’s march to toll a 40-mile stretch of highway between Bellevue and Puyallup has slowed as lawmakers struggle to agree on how those potential revenues may be used.
A bill giving the state Department of Transportation authority to construct express toll lanes on the south half of Interstate 405 and Highway 167 has yet to be voted on in either the House or Senate.
The hang-up is whether the agency should also be allowed to issue bonds that would be paid off with the future stream of toll receipts.
Supporters are pushing this as a way to immediately raise billions of dollars to carry out projects up and down the corridor, in some cases years earlier than now planned. Opponents don’t think the state should incur additional long-term debt in this manner, and want to protect use of tolls for day-to-day operations, maintenance and needed improvements in the areas where they are collected.
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