Legislative Watch 
LEGISLATIVE
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6/26/06-To help reduce the state’s $38 billion transportation funding gap, the Washington State Transportation Commission says they will ask lawmakers in the state to look at the possibility of installing tolls on some roads. Public forums are scheduled for this week to gage interest.
A study by the commission estimates a $4 toll at the Snoqualmie Pass would raise more than $500 million for construction, plus $3.1 million for annual upkeep, The Seattle Times reported. No specific toll rate for large trucks was provided.
Supporters say toll funds at the pass could help pay for such projects as widening a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 90 from Keechelus Dam to Easton.
“If you want to get the work done up there, which most people agree needs to be done, tolls are worth examining,” transportation commissioner Dick Ford told The Times.
A project to rebuild a five-mile stretch of I-90 along Keechelus Lake would be funded by $390 million in fuel taxes.
If legislators agree to tolling roadways in the state, the federal government would still need to give the state authorization to turn any existing interstate into a pay-to-play route.
Other projects that could be eyed for tolls include the state Highway 520 floating bridge and bridges on the Columbia River, The Times reported.
Tolls also are planned for the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge and state Highway 167 car-pool lanes between Auburn and Renton.
Public forums to discuss proposals on tolls are scheduled for Tuesday, June 27, in Yakima and Wednesday, June 28, in Spokane Valley. Input received from the public at the meetings could become part of the commission’s recommendations that will be forwarded to the Legislature, which ordered the study in 2005.
