Express Toll Lanes (ETL) on Interstate 405 between Lynnwood and Bellevue will be extended between Bellevue and Renton by 2024, WSDOT expects.
The I-405/SR 167 Executive Advisory Group will see the results of a recent independent review of the I-405 express toll lanes conducted by the University of Minnesota.
The ETLs between Lynnwood and Bellevue were installed in 2015. Construction on the Bellevue-Renton stretch -- considered the worst in the state for congestion -- is expected to begin in 2019. It will require the addition of a new lane in each direction.
WSDOT predicts the upcoming I-405 project will cut driving time in the general purpose lanes by about 30 percent.
Critics of ETL claim the lanes to not save drivers any time and add to the congestion problems. WSDOT studies indicate drivers between Lynnwood and Bellevue are saving an average of 11-14 minutes overall.
Toll money collected from this stretch of I-405 is used to pay for construction of the new lanes between Bellevue and Renton.
