New Tacoma Narrows bridge...will it make for a faster commute, or slower?

Question

One would think that the new bridge would make for a faster commute from Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, etc to Tacoma or Seattle. But! It's going to be a toll bridge...which will make for slow going.

So...will it be a faster commute or slower?

Answer 1

Have you ever heard of a new road or bridge making a commute better? Its just going to be one more avenue thats filled up with bumper to bumper traffic. They'll use the new bridge to justify building another 10,000 houses with Wal-Marts and gas stations and 7-11's and the KFC where in the hot summer the grease smell permeates the block. Then there will be schools and more houses and more people seeking the "good life" of a 30 year mortgage on a new house that sits on a postage stamp lot and where they can see what the neighbor is making for breakfast from their own kitchen window before they commute 2 hours to a crappy job that they have now trapped themselves in. You see them...theres one now, the guy in the buick next to you.

Answer 2

It may take a little bit of traffic off the other bridges, but I would bet it wont be any noticeable improvement. People tend take the path of least financial resistance. Why travel a paid road (or bridge in this case) when there's a perfectly good way around the toll. Even if I had to sit in traffic a bit more, I save money. (or at least that's the mindset of the average person)

If they're serious about improving traffic though, they should make the new bridge a non-toll bridge. Sounds like they just want to seriously make money off the traffic woes in this case.

Answer 3

Well, how bad are the other routes ? If the toll booths are designed well ( and they have something like EZ-Pass ) then it might not slow things all that much. If it's enough shorter, and the toll discourages enough people, as some folks have suggested, then it might shorten your trip by quite a bit.

Answer 4

when have toll booths sped up anything