Five national tolling experts will meet for the third and final time this week to share their conclusions on the Washington State Department of Transportation’s proposal to improve congestion by building express toll lanes on Interstate 405 and State Route 167.
The meeting is slated for 9 a.m. Wednesday at Kirkland City Hall, Peter Kirk Room, 123 5th Ave. The public is welcome to attend the meeting and provide brief comments to the group.
The Expert Review Panel will report their views to elected officials from cities and agencies along I-405 and SR 167 on the phasing and financing of the proposed Eastside Corridor express toll lanes.
The expert review panel will publish a final report in December.
A nine-mile stretch along the Valley Freeway – from Auburn to Renton – is accommodating a high occupancy toll (HOT) lane.
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.
