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Find out more about Kiera: Known in Seattle as Kiera ‘The Traffic Chic,' Kiera can be heard weekday mornings on 107.7 The End during the Adam Carolla Show. Her listeners not only get current traffic conditions but a dose of wit and attitude, too. She moved to Seattle in 2000 after falling in love with the area’s beauty. Since then, Kiera is proud to call Seattle home and loves everything about it ... except the traffic! |
It seems that commuters who cross 520 each day just cannot get a break. As a traffic reporter, I sound like a broken record day in and day out as I talk about traffic being jam packed approaching the bridge.
Hope may be on the way, but at what cost? Adding more lanes may relieve the congestion (until thousands more Californians move into the area). But those extra lanes and improvements will hurt your wallet.
The state toll committee is examining many options to fund the planned new span of the bridge. One idea includes a $3.80 toll for peak hour evening commutes across the bridge. In the same proposal the morning commute toll would come in at a money saving $3.05.
Think that you're safe because you get off the road before it hits the bridge? Think again. Landside portions of the road may include tolls of 40 cents to 80 cents just to drive a mile or two.
Three other plans are also in contention. However, each one still includes tolls that top the two-dollar mark during peak travel times. The State says that the earliest commuters will see tolls would be 2010.
So, what is the answer? The fact is that the bridge is gonna cost close to $4 billion to build. Lawmakers assume that drivers will pay up to half of that cost via tolls. Last November voters rejected a local tax increase that would have provided $1.1 billion towards the construction. Do you think that you have the answer? The toll committee is taking public comments through Aug. 31. You can learn more about the project by surfing over to build520.org and you can voice your opinion via email at info@build520.org
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