WSDOT - Roadway Toll Systems Modernization Programs

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is soliciting proposals to design, develop, implement, operate, and maintain roadway toll systems across Washington State through two independently evaluated contracts awarded under a single RFP-2026-0911, with proposals due December 9, 2026 at noon and a mandatory bidders meeting on October 8, 2026. WSDOT intends to award separate Open Road Tolling (ORT) RTS and Side-Fire RTS (SFT) contracts and may award future facilities to either or both contractors based on project scope and needs.

The ORT contract encompasses SR 520, SR 167 (East of I-5 Gateway), SR 99, and I-405 (Bellevue to Lynnwood) Express Toll Lanes, plus program-level work, all requiring design, installation, integration, testing, operations, and maintenance on a turnkey basis. The SFT contract begins with a Proof of Concept demonstration of image-based tolling optionally combined with Automatic Vehicle Identification, deployed on roadside poles without overhead equipment, followed by potential future facility deployments. Both contracts require compliance with comprehensive technical standards including vehicle detection at 99.9 percent accuracy, transponder read accuracy of 99.9 percent, license plate image capture at 99.5 percent, and cloud-based Roadside Management Host with geographic redundancy. Mandatory compliance includes WaTech security policies, NIST FIPS encryption for data at rest and in transit, multi-factor authentication, and 30-day local data storage with 365-day online retention. Vendors must adhere to all AASHTO, FHWA, ITE, IMSA, and WSDOT-specific design manuals and standards.

The ORT contract term runs ten years after Substantial Completion of the last System Statement of Work, with individual system operations and maintenance spanning ten years from respective completion dates. The SFT contract term is five years from the Effective Date if no additional System SOWs are issued, or ten years after System Acceptance on the last SOW if such statements are issued. Pricing is quoted in 2027 dollars with 3.5% annual escalation; labor rates are adjusted annually using local Consumer Price Index. WSDOT reserves the right to add additional toll facilities no later than ten years from the Effective Date.

Minimum qualifications require at least one RTS solution with two or more adjacent lanes implemented and in revenue operation within the last five years. For Side-Fire, preferred experience includes cloud-based Host implementation, API integration, and replacement of existing operational toll collection systems. Bidders must comply with prevailing wage requirements under RCW Chapter 39.12, provide wage theft prevention and workers' rights certifications, and disclose organizational conflicts of interest. Subcontractor Inclusion Plans establish voluntary, aspirational goals for Washington small and veteran-owned businesses with no mandatory minimums or performance requirements. Bidders must attend the mandatory October 8 meeting to be eligible; interviews are estimated for February 8–11, 2027, with Apparent Successful Bidder identification expected by February 22, 2027 and contract execution estimated for March 25, 2027. Questions must be submitted by the deadline specified in the RFP. Amendment 1 has been issued and must be acknowledged and incorporated into proposals. The RFP does not obligate WSDOT to award any contract, and any award is contingent upon funding availability.