SEATTLE – The media is invited to speak directly to Washington State Department of Transportation officials tomorrow (Dec. 7) when they announce the start date for tolling on the State Route 520 bridge.

WSDOT representatives will offer important tips to help drivers save time and money in preparation for tolling, and take media representatives on a behind-the-scenes tour of the new Good To Go! customer service center.

Electronic tolling on the SR 520 bridge will help pay for the construction of a new and safer SR 520 bridge, which is scheduled to open in 2014. The existing bridge is 48 years old and vulnerable to sinking during a strong windstorm.

SR 520 tolling start date announcement

When:             10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011

Where:           Good To Go! Customer Service Center
4554 Ninth Ave. N.E., Seattle
(Near Roosevelt Way and N.E. 45th Street in the University District – please park in the lot near the customer service center – back of the building)

Speaker:   

• Dave Dye, Washington State Transportation Deputy Secretary

Also available for interviews:

• Craig Stone, WSDOT Toll Division Director
• Patty Rubstello, WSDOT Tolling Development Engineer

Visuals: 

·         Guided tours of the Good To Go! Customer Service Center in the University District

·         Demonstration of the purchase, account activation, and installation of a Good To Go! Pass

·         A large calendar displaying today’s date and the date tolling starts

Directions:  

From I-5 North: Take exit 169 toward NE 50th Street. Merge onto 7th Avenue NE. Turn right onto NE 50th Street. Take the first right onto Ninth Avenue NE and the Good To Go! Customer Service Center will be on the left in the back of the building.

From I-5 South: Take exit 169 toward NE 50th Street. Merge onto 5th Avenue NE. Turn left onto NE 50th Street. Turn right onto 9th Avenue NE and the Good To Go! Customer Service Center will be on the left in the back of the building.