The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is just as confused as drivers by the new I-405 express toll lanes. According to MyNorthwest.com, truck drivers could not figured out where or not they could drive their rigs in the new lanes. WSDOT informed them that rigs with a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds were not allowed.
That information turned out to be false. MyNorthwest.com,
“Under current law, there is no restriction for big rigs in an express toll system. WSDOT assumed that because the toll lanes replaced the HOV lane, that the same restrictions for HOV lanes would apply. They do not.”
Why is this information important? Because WSDOT’s own lack of knowledge reinforces what many already suspected: the I-405 tolling scheme is poorly planned and managed. The Washington State Patrol Troopers Association has expressed its reservations over the tolling scheme. As Shift reported, questions have been raised over the enforcement aspect on the controversial project—particularly Washington State Patrol’s ability to safely ensure compliance.
Unfortunately, commuters are facing the consequences. As KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz pointed out, it appears that WSDOT officials are creating more traffic congestion, and then asking commuters to pay them to fix the problem.
The notion of it all is made still more ridiculous by the fact that the state is only collecting 30 cents out of every dollar in tolls. The rest of commuters’ toll money will go to the Texas tolling vender which operates the system.
Please fix typos…
wsdot needs to get new people.
Sounds like they’re right where they need to be. A dysfunctional government agency with no personnel that knows what’s going on, perfect.
Drivers also, are confused by the rules. At the store I work at, we had a run on Flex passes. Everyone thinks they need one, but you don’t unless you are a commuter with 3 people in your car (sometimes 2), so that you don’t get charged the toll. Everyone else (single drivers) only need the To Go Pass. And that’s just the start of the confusion. It’s hard to see the exit and entrance points up ahead so you can plan. How do you get OUT of the HOV lane safely so you can exit when you’re going 60 and regular lanes are stopped? Now you have busses etc. that are allowed to drive on the shoulder of the road to exit?? I’m not even looking for traffic on the shoulder! How safe is all this? Not to mention it has added so much time to my afternoon commute.
How is that WSDOT can change the commuter requirements to 3 from 2 without a vote of the people of the State of Washington? They put all of the money into this fancy camera system that was not necessary and now the people that drive and pay a lot of taxes have to pay more for the governments stupidity!!!!! They could have just added those extra lanes and not added the cameras and saved millions of dollars.
Only in Washington State would something like this occur. It seems to me that all the traffic planners in the DOT either ride buses or bicycles to work and have no idea how to handle the extra 3 MILLION residents in the King, Pierce and Snohomish County area; hey let’s take away a lane or two and see if we can fix the traffic problem, oh and while we are at it, let’s tax the area into oblivion to build trains and tunnels too.
Here’s a simple solution, we need more lanes and less trains!!!
The published information from WSDOT said that the HOV lanes will be the same as always. NOT !!!
You have to have 3+ people in the car now. I got a FlexPass and paid $30 to open a GoodToGo account, so my wife and I could use the HOV lane as we always have but now I can’t use it anymore without breaking the law and/or getting fined. Thanks WSDOT you’ve done us good !!!!
On Saturday, 10/3/15 my wife and I, along with another couple in the car, were returning from Whistler, BC. When we got to the newly marked up lanes I assumed that with four persons in the car and it being a Saturday, we’d be OK to use the HOV lanes. After passing under a couple of the new reader board signs we were confused to say the least. It sounded like we needed a “Good to Go Pass”, which I don’t have. Between the four of us we could not figure it out so we crawled in the slow lanes all the way down to Renton. I think WADOT has turned this project over to WA Fish & Game, or at least they must be drinking the same water. The people who run this state are out of their blinking minds.
Only in this state are the leaders in this state confused by their own law that they created….maybe they should be in traffic one day…