BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Gov. Gregoire proposed using tolls to help pay for a $4 billion replacement for the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge on Lake on Washington Thursday.

Gregoire proposed levying tolls on the current bridge to help pay for the new one. Unlike the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the tolls on the state Route 520 Bridge would start before the new bridge is built, perhaps as early as next year.

A recent state study recommended a round-trip toll of $6 or $7 during peak commute hours with the price possibly rising to more than $10 by the time the new bridge opens.

SURVEY: Toll On 520 Bridge?
See the Governor's plan at wsdot.wa.gov.

Citing safety as one of her top transportation priorities, Gregoire pointed out that the current state Route 520 Bridge at 44-years-old is four years older than the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota last year, and it is nearly at the end of its useful life.

Gregoire said bridge is carrying 80 percent more traffic than it was designed to carry and is in danger during an earthquake or major windstorm.

The new bridge will cost approximately $4 billion to complete. Half of the funding to pay for the new bridge will come from existing state and federal sources, while another half of the funding will be paid by bridge users through tolling.

If the financing plan is approved, a new bridge would be completed by 2018.