When plans for adding lanes were announced last year, which included a tolling option of rates over $5 one way, the public outcry began. An online petition started, and 10,000 people expressed their opposition to the tolling funding proposal. Proponents of the tolling option said the rates would never go that high. Others disagreed and for good reason.

If this sounds familiar, it is. Anyone who drives the I-405 express toll lanes will tell you that is how it started when the lanes were being proposed a few years ago. The state Department of Transportation originally said the toll would rarely go above $3 but now we see four out of five days where the toll hits $10 one way. The Transportation Department claims the average toll is much lower, but for those drivers who do not have a choice about when they must be at work, the toll can be much higher.

READ THE FULL COLUMN in The Everett Herald  HERE