Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Rate Hikes Approved

GIG HARBOR, WA — The Washington State Transportation Commission has finalized a plan to raise the tolling rates at three popular Western Washington thoroughfares: the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, SR 99 Tunnel in downtown Seattle, and the SR 520 Bridge across Lake Washington.

Two of the rate changes, at the 99 Tunnel and Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will go into effect later this fall. The other, the SR 520 bridge, will begin in July of next year.

Related: Toll Increases Approved For SR 520 Bridge, SR 99 Tunnel

For Pierce County drivers, that means all three payment options for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will cost 25 cents more beginning on Oct. 1: The Good To Go! pass rate will rise from $5 to $5.25, the toll booth rate will grow to $6.25 and the Pay By Mail rate to $7.25.

WSDOT estimates over 90,000 drivers use the bridge daily.

A toll hike for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has been in the works since at least 2018, but was made more serious by the loss of revenue caused by reduced traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation officials say the toll hikes are necessary to make up for a $72 million shortfall caused by the pandemic, the Seattle P-I reported.

According to WSDOT data, bridge tolling made $55,416,869 in revenue during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021. For comparison, in 2019 before the pandemic, it made more than $66,400,000 during the same three-quarter interval.

On top of the toll raise hike, the WSTC is also counting on the Washington State Legislature to approve $85 million in loans for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which the toll revenue will pay off over the next decade. If that happens, the WSTC says it can guarantee that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will not see another toll rate raise through at least 2030. Money from the toll rate raise will also cover debt payments, operations, and maintenance cost fees, the WSTC said.

The current Tacoma Narrows Bridge was finished and opened to traffic July 16, 2007. The Washington State Department of Transportation says it prefers to call it the "Current Narrows Bridge" when differentiating it from Galloping Gertie, the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge which was both completed in 1940 — and then famously collapsed just four months later. Gertie was replaced in the 50s with a single bridge, which was then expanded and modified into the current bridge in the early 2000s.