![]() I’ve heard time and again that these tolls are a barrier as folks travel to school and to work, visit loved ones on the other side of the Sound, and come down to Olympia to testify. ![]() “My community – our friends and family here on the peninsula, our neighbors in Tacoma – have carried nearly all of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge debt since it opened in 2007. Randall’s bill would pay off the debt nearly a decade ahead of schedule by using operating budget funds – $672 million for outstanding principal and interest, $57 million for deferred sales tax on the bridge’s construction and $43 million loaned by the state to freeze toll rates. “At a time when we have such a strong budget outlook and unspent federal money for COVID recovery, the legislature should seize the opportunity to eliminate the tolls and pay off the remaining debt.”Ĭurrently, the bridge’s initial $729 million construction costs become $1.48 billion that is projected to be satisfied on June 30, 2030. “We have long raised our voices together about the problems with the way this bridge was financed, and the inequity of leaving toll payers responsible for nearly all of the cost. “This proposal is bold but the demand is simple: our community here on the peninsula should get the infrastructure investments we need and deserve,” Randall said. ![]() The bill would transfer $772 million from the state’s general fund to pay off remaining debts on the bridge. Emily Randall (D-Bremerton) announced she will be sponsoring legislation to remove all tolls from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in under two years. ![]()
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