In what could be a blessing for taxpayers and drivers, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is required by state law to monitor the newly launched Interstate 405 express toll lanes, specifically looking out for key requirements that must be met within two years. If WSDOT does not meet its goals in that time, it must terminate the express toll lane project “as soon as practicable.”
WSDOT must deliver an annual report to the state Transportation Commission and Legislature for accountability purposes, in what promises to be interesting reading for those who care about government accountability.
The following slide was included in a presentation by WSDOT to the I-405/SR-167 Executive Advisory Group outlining the requirements.
As highlighted in bold, stipulation 4(e) requires express toll lanes to generate “sufficient revenue to pay for all Interstate 405 express toll lane-related operating costs.” By the agency’s projections, whether or not WSDOT is able to meet this requirement skates a thin line.
WSDOT projects that, in the first year, it will cost $500,000 more to collect tolls than the total adjusted revenue. And, in the second year, the tolling scheme is projected to net just $1.2 million. WSDOT expects a whopping 84% of the total revenue collected to be used to pay the cost of collection. Looking to 2021, the estimates don’t improve all that much. WSDOT projects it will collect a net of $3.9 million, with the cost of collecting those tolls projected at 67% of total revenue.
Considering WSDOT’s track record of going over budget, $1.2 million is slim margin to keep the I-405 tolling scheme alive. Perhaps that explains why WSDOT has taken to double charging thousands of commuters.
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