OLYMPIA –   Initial work on developing new tolls for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (TNB), updates on tolling and financing for the SR 99 tunnel project and transportation revenue proposals are the top discussion items for next week’s meeting of the Washington State Transportation Commission.

The meeting starts 9 a.m. each day, Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 21 and 22, at the Transportation Building on the Capital Campus, 310 Maple Park Ave. SE in Olympia. The meeting is open to the public and persons wishing to speak to the commission may do so during the public comment period scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Washington State Department of Transportation staff will brief the commission on the agency’s project prioritization process. The remainder of Tuesday’s agenda involves the commission’s function as the state tolling authority. The commission will hear about initial work of Seattle’s SR 99 Advisory Committee on tolling and traffic management. In addition, the commission will receive a report from the SR 99 Expert Review Panel, which was established to ensure there is an appropriate and viable financial plan for the SR 99 tunnel project.

Tuesday afternoon the commission will continue its work preparing for TNB rate setting, reviewing how toll scenarios are determined, discussing debt service management practices, and receiving the latest TNB traffic and revenue report. Tuesday’s agenda concludes with an update on SR 520 tolling and an overview of the new toll adjudication program in which toll violations are now handled by WSDOT rather than the public court system.

The commission will hear an overview of the latest Gray Notebook, WSDOT’s quarterly performance measurement report, on Wednesday. Other items on the agenda include a briefing on the recent Aviation Economic Impact Study and a report from the Traffic Safety Commission on their efforts to address distracted driving, vehicle fatalities and injuries, and traffic citation reporting.  In the afternoon the commission will discuss new transportation revenue options under consideration by the Legislature, and hear a presentation on WSDOT’s freight rail program.

For more information about the WSTC and a complete meeting agenda, visit the commission’s website at: http://www.wstc.wa.gov/