Would you construe this as a one-lane exit or two? (Video)

[1995hoo]

Click thumbnail to play video. The location is the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway in Springfield, Virginia, and the question is whether the lane to my left is an option lane (making it a two-lane exit) or whether only the lane I'm in is an exit lane such that you can then change lanes on the ramp. Prior to the Springfield Interchange reconstruction, this ramp carried southbound I-95 and it was clearly marked as two lanes (the left lane an option lane) and there was no merge from the right further up ahead. During the reconstruction, the left (option) lane was blocked off with barriers and such to make room for construction and the BGS was altered to reflect the single-lane ramp. Obviously, it's never been put back the way it was and the pavement markings could be considered ambiguous.

Note the first BGS about three seconds in that shows an exit-only indication for my lane and a greened-out arrow for the lane to my left. The second BGS at about 17 seconds has "yellow-out" covering an arrow for the lane to my left.

What prompts the question is that a neighbor asked what I thought. I said I assume the intent was that it would go back to being two lanes but that VDOT simply dropped the ball on restoring it, and that only the most utterly dickish of cops would give you a ticket for crossing a solid line to use the option lane to exit, but I had to admit I don't really know what they actually intended. They've been rather lax about updating signs through there as lane configurations changed–for quite a few months an option lane on the Outer Loop was signed as exit-only to I-395 until they eventually covered over one of the arrows.

[Zeffy]

It's a one-lane exit IMO. The second lane doesn't begin until you've practically committed to exiting, and although the pavement markings are indeed ambiguous, I would still think that the lane you were in was the one meant for exiting.

[froggie]

Can't get the vid, but from the description, it's gotta be Inner Loop to SR 644.  Single lane exit.  Agree VDOT did a sloppy job with the pavement and guide signage, but by the book it's still a single-lane "exit-only" situation.

[roadfro]

This seems to have the classic indications of an option lane, especially since the ramp itself has two lanes starting immediately at the gore point. The exit direction sign is of the 2009 MUTCD style that suggests an option lane--it's located at the physical gore instead of the theoretical gore, and designed with a second (covered up) arrow. The lane markings open up as an option lane normally would also (although there's a not-totally-obliterated solid line across the option lane that can be confusing).

I would have to rule it as an option lane that is not adequately marked or signed.

[vtk]

I would interpret that as a two-lane exit.  The recent striping is consistent with that, given how these kinds of exits often have a solid line separating the option lane from the dropped lane for a short distance as they diverge from the mainline.  The DOT clearly failed to effectively remove the solid white and yellow lines from the temporary configuration, but neither did they refresh those lines in more recent stripe painting.  This is the only explanation for the white broken stripe painted overtop the fading solid yellow stripe on the ramp.

[johndoe]

David Gilmour says that's a choice lane.

[froggie]

roadfro/vtk:  it previously had been a 2-lane exit with that 2nd lane as an option lane.  But even in the video you can still see the striping that changed it to a single-lane exit, which is what I recall from before I moved out of the area last year.

[vtk]

roadfro/vtk:  it previously had been a 2-lane exit with that 2nd lane as an option lane.  But even in the video you can still see the striping that changed it to a single-lane exit, which is what I recall from before I moved out of the area last year.

Yes, the OP explained that, but it's my interpretation that it has been (sloppily) changed back to a two-lane exit.

[Scott5114]

I would be curious as to why they didn't reset it to a two-lane exit when the construction was over. Ask VDOT?

[1995hoo]

I would be curious as to why they didn't reset it to a two-lane exit when the construction was over. Ask VDOT?

Funny, I've been thinking about sending them a link to the video and asking whether they mean it to be one lane or two. Maybe I'll do that today.

[jeffandnicole]

This looks like the temporary construction lines were never fully removed (If you look carefully at one point along the solid line between the two exit lanes, you can see some of the old line just to the left of the solid line).

Seems to me it should definitely be a 2 lane exit, and the contractor/state never finished up those 'punch list' items, such as removing the green/yellow outs from the overhead signs.

[Alex4897]

From a lining perspective it looks like a two lane exit, but from a signage standpoint the opposite seems true.  I dunno, could go either way.

[1995hoo]

I e-mailed VDOT yesterday afternoon. Don't know whether or when I will receive a response.

[cpzilliacus]

Click thumbnail to play video. The location is the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway in Springfield, Virginia, and the question is whether the lane to my left is an option lane (making it a two-lane exit) or whether only the lane I'm in is an exit lane such that you can then change lanes on the ramp. Prior to the Springfield Interchange reconstruction, this ramp carried southbound I-95 and it was clearly marked as two lanes (the left lane an option lane) and there was no merge from the right further up ahead. During the reconstruction, the left (option) lane was blocked off with barriers and such to make room for construction and the BGS was altered to reflect the single-lane ramp. Obviously, it's never been put back the way it was and the pavement markings could be considered ambiguous.

Should be one lane (only).  The traffic volumes I have observed when driving past there do not justify more than one lane.

As you say above, it is a leftover from when this was a two-lane (and very crash-prone) exit ramp carrying I-95 southbound from the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway to the southbound side of Shirley Highway.

[1995hoo]

VDOT just responded to my query and said merely, "Your email was fowarded to Traffic Engineering for them to review."

I'll follow up if I get a further response.

[UptownRoadGeek]

Based on the lane marking it appears to be an optional lane to the left. The stripping could be MUCH better, however. I guess you'll know what the actual intent was after they respond to the email.

[signalman]

I hope that he gets a response from Traffic Engineering.  I'm interested to see what VDOT engineers determine it to be (or intended it to be).  Personally, I think it's a two lane exit that was sloppily returned to its former configuration.

[1995hoo]

I just received the following e-mail. So they are going to look into it! I'll let you know what they say.

[My name,] I am the Technician with VDOT in the Traffic Engineering Department that will be looking into your request.

I will be contacting you as soon as I have a chance to do a field review into your issue.

[vtk]

A field review? That's what we've been doing, basically.  I hope we get an answer that says what the crews were supposed to do, not what it looks like based on their sloppy work.

[1995hoo]

BTW, there is no doubt that further up the ramp (roughly right about where my video clip ends) the faded yellow line ends such that it's a two-lane ramp; two other lanes join from the right coming off southbound I-395 and it then operates as a four-lane ramp that briefly expands to as wide as six lanes.

You can find an overhead view here: http://goo.gl/maps/i3ERC  The exit point in the video is at the center of the image in the middle of that big loop-around flyover ramp. I left it zoomed out to give a bigger picture of the area for anyone unfamiliar with it.

Google Street View is a mishmash of images from different periods. There are a couple of images right near the gore area that date back to June 2008, and at that time it was designated as a two-lane exit. See this one, for example: http://goo.gl/maps/PyqjB  The big loop-around flyover ramp did not exist at that time–it had been deferred from the original Springfield Interchange project and was later built in connection with the Beltway HO/T lane project and it opened just over a year ago as I type this.

[UptownRoadGeek]

I hope that he gets a response from Traffic Engineering.  I'm interested to see what VDOT engineers determine it to be (or intended it to be).  Personally, I think it's a two lane exit that was sloppily returned to its former configuration.

Agreed

[1995hoo]

Major threadbump here. The guy at VDOT had told me several times he was going to give me an answer regarding the ramp discussed above, but he never did.

However, I think we now have an answer through the course of events, namely the Beltway being repaved through that area. I haven't downloaded dashcam video yet, but when I drove through there this morning, the bottom of the ramp where it splits from the Beltway had been resurfaced and striped as a two-lane exit. Further up is still in progress. I may just wait to upload video until later this week when the rest of the paving should be completed. No signs have been changed and I don't know whether they will be, but the lane configuration is basically back to what it was before all the road construction in that area began 15 years ago.

[vtk]

As I predicted

[1995hoo]

Following up on my comment from earlier this week, here's a "before and after" clip combining last year's clip (seen in the original post in this thread) and a clip from this morning. I was heading in a different direction today and didn't use the ramp, but you can see it clearly enough. They haven't finished resurfacing further up the ramp and they have not done anything with the signs. Don't know whether they'll revise any signs. You can see one crumpled pull-through sign from where a dump truck hit it (the driver forgot to lower the bed before getting on the highway).

[mrsman]

Following up on my comment from earlier this week, here's a "before and after" clip combining last year's clip (seen in the original post in this thread) and a clip from this morning. I was heading in a different direction today and didn't use the ramp, but you can see it clearly enough. They haven't finished resurfacing further up the ramp and they have not done anything with the signs. Don't know whether they'll revise any signs. You can see one crumpled pull-through sign from where a dump truck hit it (the driver forgot to lower the bed before getting on the highway).

Notice the BGS at 0:49.  From looking at the sign alone, it appears to be three lanes to Tysons and the fourth lane to 644 without any clear indication that the third lane on the left is an option lane.  From the lane markings, the third lane is clearly an option lane, though.  This may be a good candidate for an APL sign.