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State transportation planners favor the idea of imposing tolls on I-90 to help pay for a new highway 520 bridge. But a state think tank calls the plan “fundamentally flawed.”

Drivers on highway 520 have been dealing with tolls for more than a year now and the truth is, drivers on I-90 are impacted, too. I-90 has seen an 11 percent increase in volume, an increase of 15,000 vehicles a day on top of the 120,000 vehicles already using the “free” bridge.

“The users of the Interstate 90 bridge are having a slower commute now,” said Washington State Transportation Department tolling director Craig Stone. “Tolling both bridges would balance traffic across Lake Washington and it would improve speed and reliability on I-90.”

Stone said traffic volume dropped dramatically when 520 tolls went into effect in December 2011 but traffic has returned to 520 in unexpected volume. Drivers are paying the toll and that’s one reason the state is considering tolling I-90, too.

It’s a policy question for the state legislature. “Should you be looking at I-90, coupled with 520 to be our cross-lake corridor and do they work together, should they be financed together?” asked Stone.

The Washington Policy Center says “No.” In a statement this week, the non-partisan think tank on issues of public policy declared that tolling I-90 to help pay for Highway 520 is, “simply bad policy and would set a bad precedent.” The organization argues that drivers are supportive of tolls when they directly benefit a bridge or section of roadway.

“I am actually in agreement with that statement,” said Stone. “It’s like a utility, if they pay for it, they should get a benefit, a transportation benefit out of it. What we can see potentially is if we put tolls on I-90 and 520, I-90 will work better.”

Plus, the state needs the money. The 520 bridge replacement project is more than $1 billion short in needed funding.

The legislature must approve tolling. If that happens, Stone expects tolling of I-90 could start in 2016.