The state Transportation Commission will decide next Wednesday whether to raise tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge beginning on July 1. It’s meeting is 9 a.m. at the Transportation Building, Commission Board Room 1D2, 310 Maple Park Ave., Olympia.
Let’s replay how we got here:
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Citizens Advisory Committee recommended in December that tolls stay at $2.75 for electronic and $4 for manual.
In March, with revenue and traffic falling short of projections, the commission rejected the citizens group’s recommendation and proposed that tolls be $3.25 for electronic and $4 for manual.
The citizens group got another crack at it on April 1 and stuck by its earlier recommendation, saying there will still be plenty of money in reserve and if it starts to get low, they can raise the tolls later.
So the ball is back in the commission’s court. If it decides on Wednesday to raise tolls, there will be public meetings May 11 in Gig Harbor and March 12 in Port Orchard. It’s odd to hold the meetings after the amount has been declared, but commission administrator Reema Griffith said it could still be changed at that point. There would be one final public hearing May 26 in Gig Harbor where a new toll would be approved.
