Five national tolling experts will meet this week to share their initial review of a proposal to improve congestion by building express toll lanes on Interstate 405 and State Route 167.
A nine-mile stretch along the Valley Freeway – from Auburn to Renton – is accommodating a high occupancy toll (HOT) lane.
The Expert Review Panel will report their views to elected officials from cities and agencies along I-405 and SR 167 on national policy and project examples relating to express toll lanes, and their review of the methodology behind the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Eastside Corridor Tolling Study.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and provide brief comments to the group. The meeting will be held 9-11 a.m. Thursday at the Renton City Hall Council Chambers, located at 1055 S. Grady Way.
WSDOT has scheduled the third and final meeting of the panel on Nov. 10, which will include a focus on the phasing and financing of the proposed Eastside Corridor express toll lanes. The expert review panel will publish a final report in December.
Panel participants represent five different areas of transportation expertise, including academics, policy, planning, operations and financing.
Panel members include:
• Academic: Ginger Goodin from the Texas Transportation Institute of the Texas A&M University System.
• Transportation Policy: Robert Poole, independent transportation consultant.
• Transportation Planning: Chuck Fuhs with Parson Brinckerhoff in Houston.
• Express Toll Operations: Jennifer Tsien, working with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.
• Financing: Janet Lee of Public Resource Advisory Group
More information about the Eastside Corridor Tolling Study and a link to a video about how express toll lanes work can be found on-line at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/tolling/eastsidecorridor.
