Tacoma Narrows: the future is now

Commuters, politicians and anybody who lives around Lake Washington should pay attention to the toll system that will be used for the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

The state is right to use a toll to help pay down the $711 million in bonds it used to build the bridge. The state is also smart to aggressively push drivers to use electronic tolls. The details have not been worked out, but drivers who purchase transponders will breeze through toll booths and pay less than drivers who opt for the old-fashioned way.

By using the devices, drivers will probably pay $1.50 per round trip the first 11 months after the bridge opens in 2007. The next year, that number could increase depending on funding from Olympia. Drivers who bypass the electronic route will have to stop at a booth and hand over $3.

The Narrow's experience is important to King County. If the Highway 520 corridor, which includes the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, has a chance of becoming something more than a bottleneck and hazard during an earthquake, taxpayers and politicians must consider a toll. Creative tolls and flexible plans that charge more during rush hour should be part of the discussion.

The Highway 520 bridge and other vital infrastructure will continue to decay while Seattle haggles with the state about what to do with the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The viaduct paralysis will only delay the inevitable for Highway 520, and make the project more costly with every year that passes. That means all those new Microsoft employees who will come with the expansion of its Redmond campus should get used to tolls, or start looking for a house on the Eastside.

Funding state road projects is not cheap or easy. The Narrows' electronic tolls show the state wants to find ways to keep the region running, while showing drivers tolls have evolved to a useful stage.