Unpaid toll grace period ending on Washington state toll roads

For drivers using the Tacoma Narrows Bridge across the Puget Sound south of Seattle, the grace period for late fees on unpaid tolls is coming to an end.

That news goes for other tolls collected by the state of Washington.

Since it launched the new Good to Go! toll system in July 2021, the Washington State Department of Transportation stopped charging late fees and civil penalties on all express toll lanes, bridges and tunnels in the state. The Washington state DOT also stopped requesting registration holds because of unpaid tolls from the state Department of Licensing. That ends March 1.

Putting a pause on charging late fees was put in place to give the vendor installing the Good to Go! system sufficient time to implement the necessary changes to the system to charge late fees and penalties. Suspending the fees also provided a grace period for customers to adjust to the new toll billing system.

In addition to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the Good to Go! toll payment system also has been installed for I-405 express toll lanes, state Route 167 high-occupancy toll lanes, state Route 520 bridge tolling and state Route 99 tunnel tolling.

Drivers have three options for paying the state’s toll:

• Create a Good to Go! account and install the pass on their vehicle. This is the lowest-cost method.
• Pay at the toll booth, using cash or credit card. This method costs $1 more than the Good To Go! pass rate. Use Exit 8 on state Route 16 to access the toll booths.
• Pay by mail. A photo of the vehicle and its license plate will be taken and a bill mailed to the address where the vehicle is registered. Pay by mail costs $2 more than the Good to Go! rate.

“Our goal is to collect the toll to pay for important transportation investments,” WSDOT Toll Division Director Edward Barry said in a news release. “We want to work with customers to resolve unpaid bills, avoid fees and help them lower their bills in the process.”

Most tolls that will be subject to late fees have remained unpaid after the initial bill was sent, the state DOT reported. Some could have been unpaid for more than a year, the department said, though about 90% of customers pay their tolls on time.

For failure to pay within 80 days, drivers are assessed a civil penalty of $40 plus a $5 processing fee for each unpaid trip.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll history

The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in 1950. Tolls were collected until 1965 to recover the $14 million in bonds to build the bridge.

The newer, eastbound bridge opened in 2007. The bridge had a price tag of about $1.4 billion. The span was paid for through bond sales. About $700 million has been repaid through tolls.

Tolls to cross the bridge decreased Oct. 1:

• The charge for drivers of two-axle vehicles, including motorcycles, with a Good to Go! Pass is $4.50.
• Three-axle vehicles pay $6.75 with a pass.
• Four-axle vehicles pay $9 will a pass.
• Five-axle vehicles pay $11.25 with a pass, and six-axle vehicles with a pass pay $13.50. LL

More Washington state news is available.