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[1995hoo]

The pace seems to be picking up on the Beltway as more portions of the new outer lanes open. This is not such a spot, obviously, but I found it interesting to see the toll gantries hoisted into place between US-50 and US-29. At least one other was recently raised between I-66 and VA-7, but I don't have a picture since it was late night when we went through.




I noticed the new BGSs for the HOV ramps have been put into place for traffic heading from the Inner Loop to Shirley Highway (i.e., going west into Springfield and exiting to the left of the I-95 flyover). Can't seem to get a good picture due to their location behind the flyover unless I were to hold the camera in my hand, which I don't like to do. They have the white "Restricted Lanes" banner at the top, then the shield and destination, then an empty opening where it looks like a VMS will be inserted. Whether that's going to contain toll rate info or instead HOV info, who knows. They haven't hoisted any toll gantries on that end of the project—the first one you see on the Inner Loop is just west of the main part of the Springfield Interchange going up the hill towards the overpass above Backlick Road.

[froggie]

The open space is where a small VMS will go showing the toll rate.

[Takumi]

The Meadowville exit for I-295 is progressing. Looks like it's going to be a simple diamond, as there are two sets of covered signals going each way with what appear to be left turn signals among them.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The Meadowville exit for I-295 is progressing. Looks like it's going to be a simple diamond, as there are two sets of covered signals going each way with what appear to be left turn signals among them.

This would be noteworthy as the first non-cloverleaf interchange on I-295, other than its termini and the VA 895 eastern terminus.

[froggie]

Something I'm slowly starting to see a lot more of is VDOT red left arrow installations.  There are several locations I've seen them in now:  US 1 both in Fairfax County and Spotsylvania County, US 301 at VA 3, US 29 in Centreville, and a few out along the I-81 corridor.  I'm sure there are some I'm missing/not-remembering.

[1995hoo]

Something I'm slowly starting to see a lot more of is VDOT red left arrow installations.  There are several locations I've seen them in now:  US 1 both in Fairfax County and Spotsylvania County, US 301 at VA 3, US 29 in Centreville, and a few out along the I-81 corridor.  I'm sure there are some I'm missing/not-remembering.

There are several of them at the intersection of Van Dorn and Franconia. (Meaning two red arrows in a couple of directions and one red arrow in other directions.)

[Beltway]

The Meadowville exit for I-295 is progressing. Looks like it's going to be a simple diamond, as there are two sets of covered signals going each way with what appear to be left turn signals among them.

The Meadowville exit for I-295 is progressing. Looks like it's going to be a simple diamond, as there are two sets of covered signals going each way with what appear to be left turn signals among them.

It will be a diamond layout, with space for future loops.  Also with provision for 4-laning of Meadowville Road with a parallel bridge over I-295.

[1995hoo]

More new signs on the Beltway. I was stuck in stopped traffic about half an hour ago coming back from Fairfax and so I took the opportunity to get pictures, as I had noticed the signs on my way out there but couldn't get a good picture due to the ramp in the way. Pictures taken from the eastbound Outer Loop looking across the northbound I-95 flyover; the signs are on the yet-to-open left exit that will lead to the ramps connecting to the express lanes on Shirley Highway. The sign on the right appears to confirm froggie's comments about the HOT facility extending through the Springfield Interchange, although it's a bit odd that there's no space for displaying a toll rate on that particular sign. The renderings I've seen for the HOT lane signs all include a white bar on top with the E-ZPass logo and the letters "HOT." Who knows, perhaps tolling for thru traffic on the Beltway is to begin further to the west of this spot.

I find it mildly interesting that on the advance signs along the Beltway, I-395 is listed above I-95 while this sign reverses it, but since the I-95 ramp will split off first it seems to me that putting I-95 first is the proper order.

You know, the other possibility that occurs to me about the small VMS units that will go on these signs is that they may very well not include toll rates at all (there are still no signs of toll gantries anywhere on that side of the Springfield Interchange) and that instead they may well say "OPEN" or "CLOSED." Obviously, if the ramp from the Beltway to the inbound express lanes on I-395 is open, the ramp to the outbound express lanes on I-95 will be closed—both ramps will never be open at the same time. (My interest in the setup stems from the fact that I can see myself using those ramps very frequently, especially coming home from Caps games.)

[cpzilliacus]

From WTOP Radio: No pain, no gain when it comes to HOT lanes construction

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: Washington Times editorial on [Virginia] HOT lanes, tolling misleading, ill-informed CRITIQUE

[Beltway]

TOLLROADSnews: Washington Times editorial on [Virginia] HOT lanes, tolling misleading, ill-informed CRITIQUE

Unfortunately, the opposition to tolling VA I-95 is far more widespread than one editorial in one newspaper.

I've seen numerous comments from people who are aware that the tolls would support major capacity addition, who still oppose tolls on the notion of "double taxation", i.e. paying tolls on top of road use taxes.

I see I-95 as a "super corridor" or "principal Interstate", where the needs are so great, that I would love to see funding in the form of tolls + road use taxes. 

An I-95 with 10 or more lanes between Richmond and Washington, and upgraded interchanges, would be well worth it.  E-ZPass and open road tolling would allow tolling at full highway speeds.

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: Washington Times editorial on [Virginia] HOT lanes

Unfortunately, the opposition to tolling VA I-95 is far more widespread than one editorial in one newspaper.

Agreed.  But the opponents have to be educated that the alternative is an increase in the Commonwealth's motor fuel tax rates.  

I've seen numerous comments from people who are aware that the tolls would support major capacity addition, who still oppose tolls on the notion of "double taxation", i.e. paying tolls on top of road use taxes.

For the indefinite future, there will be a tax on motor fuels (including electric power for electric motor vehicles, if that becomes popular).   Especially in a state like Virginia, where with the exceptions of Arlington and Henrico Counties, all "county" (secondary) highways are maintained by the Commonwealth in the form of VDOT and not by the counties.

Your point about double taxation on toll roads in the U.S. is correct, but I don't see what can be done about that, unless we want to measure the miles that every vehicle drives on every U.S. street, road and highway open to the public.  For trucks and buses that are required to report state-by-state miles because they operate interstate (or to Canada) and weigh over 26,000 pounds (and must display IFTA stickers), it strikes me as reasonable to give them a break from road use/fuel taxes that they pay for miles driven on toll roads, though even for that, the U.S., Canada and Mexico might be better off requiring those trucks to explicitly pay for all freeway use, perhaps using technology similar to what Germany uses to toll all heavy trucks (and only trucks) operating on its autobahn network (details here (site comes up in German, click "English" if you don't read German)).

I see I-95 as a "super corridor" or "principal Interstate", where the needs are so great, that I would love to see funding in the form of tolls + road use taxes.  

An I-95 with 10 or more lanes between Richmond and Washington, and upgraded interchanges, would be well worth it.  E-ZPass and open road tolling would allow tolling at full highway speeds.

Not sure I would like to see a new functional class or other way of designating I-95, beyond what it is today, a freeway.  And given that it attracts a lot of traffic from non-E-ZPass states (even though N.C. is now a member of the E-ZPass IAG), I think cash tolling might need to be an option for some years to come, though I understand the Maine Turnpike is under pressure to go cashless at its southernmost toll barrier on the Maine Turnpike, which is I-95.

I would not mind seeing the entire thing tolled from the Maryland/Delaware border all the way south to South Carolina/Georgia border at the Savannah River - if the revenue was used to improve the corridor.  And I say that as a regular user of most of that road.

[1995hoo]

The Virginia politicians haven't done a good job at all of explaining the differences between the various toll projects, and the media sloppiness doesn't help. Most people here are aware of the HOT lane project on the Beltway. Many people have also heard of the proposal to extend the I-95 express lanes to the south as an HOT facility and to convert the south-of-the-Beltway portion of the express lanes to HOT. But from what I've observed, the majority of non-roadgeeks—and even some politicians to whom I've spoken!!!—don't realize that the "I-95 tolls" proposal is separate from the I-95 HOT proposal. When they realize there's a proposal to toll all traffic on I-95 once you get south of Fredericksburg, they go ballistic and they start complaining that (a) we have a gas tax to pay for that and (b) the General Assembly should just man up and pay the gas tax. People also cannot seem to separate the idea of tolls from their mental images of massive backups in Newark, Delaware, over the years on the Delaware Turnpike. Even people who are aware of E-ZPass automatically envision toll plazas. I suppose that's not unreasonable in this case—what are the chances that the feds would allow Virginia to pursue an all-ORT system on I-95 when the toll will apply to every lane, rather than just to managed lanes?

I certainly understand people's reluctance to pay tolls for a road that used to be toll-free. Nobody likes to pay. But the people in Richmond who understand the way the proposal works could do a far better job of explaining why raising the gas tax would not produce the same funding as toll would. The gas tax is apportioned all around the Commonwealth in a variety of ways and unless they amend those regulations, they can't simply raise the gas tax and dedicate all the money to one particular road. But the General Assembly members from more rural areas where they don't use I-95 are unlikely ever to allow amendments to dedicate the money to a road that doesn't pass anywhere near their districts. (Anyone who lives in Northern Virginia will have witnessed the rest of the Commonwealth's refusal to adjust transportation funding formulas to send more money up here even though we pay more in taxes than the rest of the state. There's no reason to think anything different would happen with an increased gas tax.) The politicians also haven't explained that once I-95 is tolled, Virginia forfeits any federal funding for that road. In a sense, there would be a level of "paying twice" insofar as the Virginia portion of the gas tax would still be sending funding to I-95. But that tax portion would be minute IF people could view it through the prism of considering the portion of the tax that gets devoted to I-95.

I think I'd rather have seen them pursue this on I-81 than on I-95 simply because I-81 is so much more unpleasant to drive due to having only two lanes on a side for most of its length in Virginia.

[74/171FAN]

I got rid of all the political banter(I think).  Please avoid political arguments in this forum.  They just bring unnecessary debate and argument for a site that is not meant to deal with politics.

-Mark

[Beltway]

I got rid of all the political banter(I think).  Please avoid political arguments in this forum.  They just bring unnecessary debate and argument for a site that is not meant to deal with politics.
-Mark

You did, and I am pleased!

These political comments are fine, and I agree with them --

<<< The Virginia politicians haven't done a good job at all of explaining the differences between the various toll projects, and the media sloppiness doesn't help. >>>

--
Beltway
"Never saw a beltway that I didn't like"

[Steve]

I got rid of all the political banter(I think).  Please avoid political arguments in this forum.  They just bring unnecessary debate and argument for a site that is not meant to deal with politics.

-Mark

I restored the last post minus the one overtly political comment. I think there are some constructive points worth considering.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Keeping the cheaters out of the new HOT lanes

[1995hoo]

WTOP Radio: Keeping the cheaters out of the new HOT lanes

For some reason I can't keep myself from looking at the reader comments on those articles. A lot of those people make ethanman62187 look like a towering intellectual.

The WTOP article also illustrates a point someone made in one of the now-deleted posts in this thread (one made in response to my comments above about the politicians doing a poor job of explaining the rationale for seeking to toll I-95) where somebody said that the media ignorance just makes it worse. The WTOP article notes that Fluor and Transurban are working out "a deal" with the Virginia State Police to have a dedicated HOT enforcement unit. I might be wrong, but "working out a deal" strongly implies that Fluor and Transurban will pay at least a substantial portion of the cost of these extra troopers, at least in terms of their salaries. But it's unclear. I assume part of the reason the story is vague about it is that the participants won't comment on a deal that's still under negotiation, which is standard procedure in the business world. It doesn't help to silence the whiners, though, when the story is devoid of detail. Adam Tuss certainly knows the details of the project, including the switchable E-ZPass, and it's a shame that WTOP's sound-bite radio format won't allow him to write a longer story for posting on their website.

The level of public ignorance about this project is really quite pathetic. Most of the time when I've talked to people about it and explained what I know of the details, people find it interesting and comment that the usual media outlets could explain these things a lot better. But I think a lot of the people you encounter commenting on these things online are people who don't think much beyond a second-grade level and who like to whine. "The HOT lanes suck, and if you like them, you suck too." Very enlightened commentary there.



BTW, semi-related: Last night I was on my way home from Fairview Park shortly after 10:00 PM and I took the Outer Loop. I noted that they've started laying steel for the HOT exit/entrance at Braddock Road. Those of you who use that part of the Beltway frequently may wish to keep your ears peeled, since at some point there will have to be night closures as they lay steel across the travel lanes (the ramp will fly over the Outer Loop and enter/exit the HOT lanes from the center of the roadway, i.e., a left exit for southbound traffic and a left entrance northbound).

[Beltway]

WTOP Radio: Keeping the cheaters out of the new HOT lanes

For some reason I can't keep myself from looking at the reader comments on those articles. A lot of those people make ethanman62187 look like a towering intellectual.

The WTOP article also illustrates a point someone made in one of the now-deleted posts in this thread (one made in response to my comments above about the politicians doing a poor job of explaining the rationale for seeking to toll I-95) where somebody said that the media ignorance just makes it worse. The WTOP article notes that Fluor and Transurban are working out "a deal" with the Virginia State Police to have a dedicated HOT enforcement unit. I might be wrong, but "working out a deal" strongly implies that Fluor and Transurban will pay at least a substantial portion of the cost of these extra troopers, at least in terms of their salaries. But it's unclear. I assume part of the reason the story is vague about it is that the participants won't comment on a deal that's still under negotiation, which is standard procedure in the business world. It doesn't help to silence the whiners, though, when the story is devoid of detail. Adam Tuss certainly knows the details of the project, including the switchable E-ZPass, and it's a shame that WTOP's sound-bite radio format won't allow him to write a longer story for posting on their website.

The level of public ignorance about this project is really quite pathetic. Most of the time when I've talked to people about it and explained what I know of the details, people find it interesting and comment that the usual media outlets could explain these things a lot better. But I think a lot of the people you encounter commenting on these things online are people who don't think much beyond a second-grade level and who like to whine. "The HOT lanes suck, and if you like them, you suck too." Very enlightened commentary there.

Or use sloganeering like "Lexus Lanes" ... :-)

The newspapers don't even do well with the issue of increasing the motor fuels tax.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch supports such increases, but conducts and posts "polls" that have questions that seem designed to arrive at a majority negative opinion about increases.

[1995hoo]

BTW, in case it wasn't clear, in my post from Monday morning when I said "Most people here are aware of the HOT lane project on the Beltway," by "here" I meant "in Northern Virginia," not "on the AARoads forum." As I re-read it now I realize it probably wasn't clear how I meant that sentence. People on this forum are by our very nature a lot more aware of the plans for these sorts of projects than your average random local motorist.

[Takumi]

I-95 south of Richmond is in the process of being repaved. The most travelled portion for me is northbound from exits 50 to 54, usually at night when they're working on it (tonight, for example, they were working on and around Exit 52). It's caused some rough travels home for me, but the finished product has been worth it. The exit 61 (VA 10) area has also been undergoing repaving southbound recently.

[cpzilliacus]

BTW, in case it wasn't clear, in my post from Monday morning when I said "Most people here are aware of the HOT lane project on the Beltway," by "here" I meant "in Northern Virginia," not "on the AARoads forum." As I re-read it now I realize it probably wasn't clear how I meant that sentence. People on this forum are by our very nature a lot more aware of the plans for these sorts of projects than your average random local motorist.

Beltway, even after Maryland's ICC opened, it was absolutely amazing to me how many people (working or living right next to the ICC) don't know where it goes or that toll collection will be all-electronic.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post editorial: Help for Virginia’s crumbling roads

As Bob Chase, a transportation analyst, wrote recently for the University of Virginia's Cooper Center for Public Service, since 1986 Virginia has added 1.5 million licensed drivers, 2 million people and 2.9 million registered vehicles — but not a dime in new, long-term transportation funding. If utilities were similarly ignored, Virginians would lack heat, electricity and water. "The basic problem," says Mr. Chase, "is the people of Virginia are not being asked to pay for the transportation they are using."

[cpzilliacus]

Article by Bob Chase on Virginia’s Transportation Funding Crisis in the Virginia News Letter (published by the Cooper Center for Public Service) can be read online and optionally downloaded here.

In the interest of full disclosure, readers should know that I am a dues-paying member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, of which Bob Chase is the president.

[Takumi]

VA 109 is, at least temporarily, not accessible or posted from US 460 Business westbound. There's some utility work going on at the intersection and the movement from 460 Business to 109 has been torn up. There are two no-right-turn signs posted and the trailblazer has been removed. Eastbound 460 Business can still turn onto VA 109, and its trailblazer is still there (although it looks like it's about to fall over). If you're in this area I would have already recommended bypassing this segment entirely as 460 Business has serious pavement issues anyway, but it's even worse around the VA 109 intersection.

Edit: I made a blog post about it.