The Washington State Department of Transportation expressed mostly encouraging news about the first day of tolls on the State Route 520 Bridge, but there was a problem for some people buying passes to cross the bridge.

Bob Jacobson waited outside in the cold to buy and activate a Good To Go! pass Thursday morning only to hear from a WSDOT service representative that their computer servers were down.

“I was not given any reason,” he said. “Maybe they don’t even have a reason why.”

Jacobson said it wasn’t a big deal, but added, “Hopefully the bridge will work better than their system does.”

The state said the glitch only affected its customer service representatives who were trying to activate accounts at pass outlets, and it only lasted for about a half hour.

“During that time period, we verified that you were still able to get in through the web, an external approach, so those customers were not affected,” state tolling director Craig Stone said.

There was no problem with the tolling equipment, which has separate computers and backup systems.

Three-quarters of drivers who crossed the bridge during the peak commute had a Good To Go! pass, which exceeded state expectations.

“We’re very pleased with the first day, but again, it’s just our first day,” Stone said.

The state said it wouldn’t have any detailed traffic data until Friday, but traffic was very light, as expected, between the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Volumes on the tolled 520 Bridge were about 45 percent lighter than average. The Interstate 90 Bridge was slightly busier. Fewer cars were noticed on State Route 522 around the north end of Lake Washington, mostly due to the holidays.

“There’s been no delays on any facility that we’ve seen, whether it’s an arterial or one of our freeways,” Stone said.

WSDOT isn’t expecting congestion until next week.

“And then we expect very heavy traffic on Tuesday, on January 3,” Stone said. “We want people to be prepared.”

Most people will be coming back to work on the 3rd, and students will be returning to the University of Washington.