The second time was the charm for the state Senate as it passed a bill Saturday to authorize construction of high-occupancy tolling (HOT) lanes on Interstate 405. The proposal failed in the Senate last year.

Engrossed House Bill 1382 was passed by a 36-13 vote. The bill authorizes construction of two lanes in the northern portion of the corridor from downtown Bellevue to Lynnwood. It includes a study on the potential of extending the lanes south to connect with State Route 167.

The bill has been a harbinger for controversy throughout the entirety of the legislative session. The debate led to a number of proposed amendments, with the most important being a clause that allows the Legislature to shut down the project after two years if toll funds can’t pay for the costs of construction. Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island), the House Transportation chair said the change alters structuring of the project. It allows workers to begin constructing the new lanes and begin collecting tolls before completing all the exterior tolling equipment, to assure that revenue will live up to expectations.

“It’s more of sequencing the way the project goes forward rather than authorizing it all up front,” she said.

The amendment came as a result of revenue for SR-167’s HOT lanes being short of expectations. Clibborn said she was OK with putting this safeguard in place, but comparisons of SR-167 and I-405 don’t tell the whole story. She thought that the immense capacity on I-405 will make a quick, but more expensive, path an enticing option.

The lanes would allow single-vehicle drivers to pay into lanes that carpoolers can use for free. Much of the contention of the project has centered around the debate of whether two-person, or three-person carpools should be exempt. The language in the bill initially allows for cars with two-plus occupants to use the lanes for free, but Clibborn said that could be changed in the future if it fails to relieve congestion or build enough of a revenue base to pay for the project.

The bill will now go back to the House, where Clibborn said she will recommend concurrence. It would then go to Gov. Chris Gregoire. According to the bill, tolling cannot begin until road improvements, including adding extra lanes, is completed.