I-90 floods with commuters driven off by 520 tolls | Transportation

Tolls on the 520 Bridge did what many expected they would do on the first true workday after the holidays: moved many commuters over to I-90.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says on the first workday with tolling traffic was down 45 percent.

“What we’re starting to see is a shift in driver behavior,” said one WSDOT representative.

Many of those drivers are shifting over to I-90. According to WSDOT, traffic there was up 25 percent during the morning commute.

Some drivers say they are never driving 520 again.

“Going from the U-District to Bellevue, I usually take 520,” says one commuter. “I’m not going to take it anymore because I don’t want to spend three or four bucks every time I cross.”

The extra traffic is having an impact on people who live and work on Mercer Island.

“I’m going to start my workdays earlier and go home earlier,” one Mercer Island resident says.

But, on the flipside, some Good to Go pass-holders are thrilled with the new traffic pattern.

“Time is money, so $2.80 to cross it – piece of cake,” says a fan of the new tolls.

The state says it will keep a close eye on traffic patterns and make changes if necessary in the months to come.

State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond says reducing the toll to lure people back to 520 is unlikely.

“We have to pay our debt service,” she said. “We’ve borrowed a lot of money and started construction. The tolling has to pay for a billion dollars worth of the corridor construction. That’s the bottom line.”

Hammond says they have no choice because the days of the federal government footing 90 percent of our freeway bills are long gone, and tolls are the wave of the future.