Starting at 7 p.m. this Friday, March 18, the Interstate 405 express toll lanes will be free and open to all drivers on nights, weekends, and six major holidays, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.

“We worked closely with the Washington State Transportation Commission to determine hours of operation that would maintain reliability for the I-405 commuters making millions of trips in the express toll lanes since they opened last September,” said WSDOT Assistant Secretary of Tolling Patty Rubstello. “We believe the new hours will still allow us to provide a faster, more predictable trip to transit, carpools and toll-paying customers when they need it most, while balancing traffic across all lanes during off-peak times, like nights and weekends.”

In February, Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Legislature directed WSDOT to make changes to the I-405 express toll lanes system, including the hours of operations. The Transportation Commission voted Tuesday to enact an emergency rulemaking to carry out regulatory changes to tolling policies that the express toll lanes should only operate on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“To date, commuters’ experience with the 405 express toll lanes has been a mixed bag — the lanes have resulted in shorter commute times for some drivers and transit users, but for others, the opposite has happened,” Inslee said Tuesday. “That’s why I announced over a dozen improvements in February that will provide traffic relief including lifting tolls on nights, weekends and holidays, a step that I appreciate the Transportation Commission taking quick action on today.”

The governor said that “more positive change is on the way,” with a new transportation budget that funds additional incident response trucks throughout Puget Sound, improved customer service and new capacity on 405 that will help alleviate congestion at some of the worst chokepoints.

“In the meantime, WSDOT is already moving ahead with other changes such as better striping and access points so we can improve toll lane operations for all users,” Inslee said.

Tips for drivers
· Check the signs: When the signs display the words “OPEN TO ALL” that means drivers can enter the lanes for free without a Good To Go! pass or a carpool.
· Use the designated access points: Drivers must continue to observe the designated access points, and are not permitted to cross the double white lines at any time. Failure to observe these rules may result in a $136 ticket. WSDOT designed an express toll lanes interactive map to help drivers learn the access points and plan trips.
· Direct access ramps are HOV-only during off-hours: Only transit and two-person carpools are permitted to use the direct access ramps at Northeast 6th Street in downtown Bellevue and Northeast 128th Street in Totem Lake. These signs will show HOV2+ NO PASS NEEDED. This means there will be limited exits for drivers traveling southbound through Kirkland and downtown Bellevue due to the restrictions at these two locations. WSDOT is looking at options to improve access in these areas. Weekday toll-paying customers are still allowed to use these ramps, regardless of vehicle occupancy.
· Other tolled facilities operate as usual: The State Route 167 HOT Lanes, as well as the SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges will operate as usual.

Drivers can find information about these changes online at GoodToGo405.org. For questions about Good To Go! accounts or toll bills, drivers should first visit MyGoodToGo.com. Additional assistance is available by calling 1-866-936-8246. Callers may experience longer wait times during this transition.