Dec. 20 — A little cash makes for a faster SR 167 commute

Starting this spring, a nine-mile stretch of State Route 167, from Auburn to Renton, could be a costly but refreshing diversion from the daily grind for commuters. The Washington State Department of Transportation will launch its pilot program allowing solo drivers to venture into the previously off-limit HOV lanes, which will be referred to as High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. All they have to do is spend a few extra bucks.

Though the toll program has been tried in a few other states, this will be the first of its kind in Washington. For the next four years, East Pierce residents heading northbound can place a dollar value on their time spent commuting.

The project isn’t expected to be a huge money-maker. That’s not the intent. Instead, what department of transportation officials are hoping for is to simply get more use out of the under-used HOV lanes. Studies showed that traffic would flow better and more cars could get onto SR 167 if the HOV lanes were opened up to solo drivers.

Carpoolers would still be allowed in the lane for free but those single drivers who want to zoom past others would have to fork out as much as $9 to do so. When the traffic isn’t at peak congestion, the toll amount would be lower. The idea is to keep the lane moving without dipping below 45 mph. And, by getting more of those solo drivers out of the other lanes, it picks up the pace everywhere.

At first, the money collected from the tolls will solely support the project itself, including extra law enforcement and incident response units. After that, it’s unclear where any extra money might go, though the Washington Legislature included strong language about the project indicating the money should be kept in the same area where it’s collected.

This could potentially be extremely helpful to East Pierce residents who have to make the commute north five days a week. It’s a trip that will only get nastier with time as development near Bonney Lake and Sumner continues.

In essence, it’ a program that allows commuters to help themselves — the more people who take advantage of the HOT lanes means there will be more funding going toward enhancing transit or other ways of making traffic bearable along the SR 167 corridor.