Bellevue-area drivers caught speeding through active work zones will pay $125 for a first offense starting July 1, ending a year-long period in which first-time violators faced no financial penalty.

The Washington State Legislature raised the first-time fine from $0 to $125 during its 2025 session. Second and subsequent infractions remain $248. The change applies statewide to WSDOT's Work Zone Speed Camera Program, which rotates trailer-mounted cameras through construction sites on state highways, including corridors like I-405 where Eastside construction is ongoing.

Since enforcement began April 16, 2025, the program has issued 85,000 infractions at roughly 50 job sites statewide, according to the Bellevue Reporter. Of those, 77,000 were first-time infractions that carried no fine. That free pass disappears next week.

"This isn't about writing tickets and fining motorists; this is about slowing inattentive drivers down and saving lives," Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a mid-2025 statement on the program's early results.

The cameras use LiDAR to detect speeds and only activate when work crews are present. A State Patrol trooper reviews every potential infraction before a notice is mailed to the vehicle's registered owner within 30 days.

The violations are non-moving infractions, meaning they do not affect driving records or insurance rates. Unpaid fines are added to vehicle registration renewals.

The state's 2025–27 transportation budget projects $138 million in fine revenue over six years to fund the program's expansion, DUI patrols, and safety education, according to the Washington State Standard. WSDOT plans to have 15 cameras in rotation by 2027.

Fatal work zone crashes in Washington rose from five in 2024 to nine in 2025, according to WSDOT data. Nearly 95% of those injured in work zone crashes are drivers, passengers, or pedestrians.

Drivers who receive an infraction can contest it, acknowledge it, or pay at waworkzonespeedcameras.gov, by phone, or by mail.