Northern Virginia HOT Lanes

[1995hoo]

On our way to the Caps game, we heard WTOP's traffic report say there was a wrong-way driver in the I-95 HO/T lanes today. Seems the cops got him before an accident occurred. Scary thing to visualize, though.

[1995hoo]

...and after getting home from the game, I see this on Twitter. Don't have any details, but this sounds ominous. I may ask Dr. Gridlock if he can find out anything.

@VaDOTNOVA: @VAExpressLanes MT @GeauxAmes: @VaDOTNOVA Traffic entering express lanes @ Backlick Rd headed south are meeting one-way traffic headed north

[cpzilliacus]

On our way to the Caps game, we heard WTOP's traffic report say there was a wrong-way driver in the I-95 HO/T lanes today. Seems the cops got him before an accident occurred.

This bothers the Hades out of me.  I do not recall this happening even once going back 20 to 30 years (including the years when the HOV roadway ended at about where Va. 289 (f/k/a Va. 7900) crosses I-95).

A report like this should prompt a total shut-down of the 95 Express Lanes regardless of the revenue that Transurban might lose. They have got to figure out what went wrong - this is a particularly dangerous situation [H/T NOAA] IMO.

Scary thing to visualize, though.

Agreed.

...and after getting home from the game, I see this on Twitter. Don't have any details, but this sounds ominous. I may ask Dr. Gridlock if he can find out anything.

@VaDOTNOVA: @VAExpressLanes MT @GeauxAmes: @VaDOTNOVA Traffic entering express lanes @ Backlick Rd headed south are meeting one-way traffic headed north

Please do ask Doctor Gridlock!

One of the concerns that I have never shared is the potential for confusion between the 495 Express Lanes (which run two-way operation unless one side is closed for some reason), and the 95 Express Lanes, which can only run one way operation.

Could someone have thought that since the 495 HOV/Toll lanes are two way, that must mean that the 95 HOV/Toll lanes have suddenly become a two-way operation?

[1995hoo]

I'm wondering if someone simply somehow made a wrong turn past the barriers. I have not checked out the new reversible ramp connecting to Alban Road and Boudinot Drive, which is where I assume the person who sent the tweet was referring to, but I believe the ramp ends/begins at a signalized intersection. That at least raises the possibility of someone making a wrong turn.

[cpzilliacus]

I'm wondering if someone simply somehow made a wrong turn past the barriers. I have not checked out the new reversible ramp connecting to Alban Road and Boudinot Drive, which is where I assume the person who sent the tweet was referring to, but I believe the ramp ends/begins at a signalized intersection. That at least raises the possibility of someone making a wrong turn.

I have not looked at that entrance/exit ramp in during during a part of the day with sunlight. 

In the dark, it looked (to me) to be pretty well barriered-off.  The barriers at the reversible ramps at Shirlington Circle, Seminary Road, Turkeycock Run and at Va. 289 (old 7900) have always worked well.

[jeffandnicole]

I noticed though that the barriers don't go all the way across, at least from the I-95 general purpose lanes.  So even if the gates are down and lights are on, there is still an opportunity for a motorist to enter the lanes going the wrong way.

Not sure if that is true from the local roads to the express lanes.  But if the gates don't go all the way across, that to me is a major issue.  We see people try to go around RR crossing gates quite often.  The same can, and could have, happen here.

[1995hoo]

I haven't heard back from either Dr. Gridlock or Channel 4's Adam Tuss. Dr. G does an online Q&A every Monday at noon. Link follows. Maybe if we all submit questions about it, the producer will give him one of them to answer.

http://live.washingtonpost.com/gridlock0202.html

Depending on how my afternoon shapes up, and on the weather, I might swing past there to see how it's configured.


Edited to add: BTW, don't bother with that link on an iPad. I just tried to submit a question using mine and the page was glacially slow, then Safari reported a "problem" with it and reloaded it before I finished typing my first sentence!

[davewiecking]

Link worked for me (on an iPad). Question asked.

[1995hoo]

Link worked for me (on an iPad). Question asked.

Glad it worked for someone. I submitted a question via my PC. I've been having trouble with the Post's website for a couple of weeks now on my iPad and I don't know why. I assume it has something to do with the site's new design.

[davewiecking]

(I've had much better luck with the iPad Post App since version 3 came out last week. Crashed regularly in the weeks before that, and I uninstalled/reinstalled several times (which was only a temporary fix). But I posted today using Safari...)

[1995hoo]

(I've had much better luck with the iPad Post App since version 3 came out last week. Crashed regularly in the weeks before that, and I uninstalled/reinstalled several times (which was only a temporary fix). But I posted today using Safari...)

I wasn't using the app, just Safari. I may have to try the app again.



Dr. Gridlock answered my question in his online discussion. See below.

Q: I-95 express lanes: Wrong-way drivers?

Yesterday while I was driving I heard a WTOP traffic report say that apparently there had been a wrong-way driver in the I-95 express lanes but that police caught him before there could be an accident. Later, however, I saw VDOT had retweeted something that seemed to imply people were entering the lanes southbound in Newington when the lanes were pointed northbound. Do you know anything about this? If any of it is true, I'm a bit surprised it's not a bigger story in the local media. The notion of traffic going the wrong way in there is scary, to say the least!

A: Robert Thomson

I didn't hear the WTOP report. I did see a Twitter message from VDOT to the express lanes that was a forward of a message from a traveler.

The traveler's message said: "Traffic entering express lanes @ Backlick Rd headed south are meeting one-way traffic headed north."

So this morning, I asked express lanes spokesman Mike McGurk if he would check on whether there was any problem with the express lanes ramp gates on Sunday.

He wrote back to say he had confirmed their was no problem with the gates: "All appropriate entry ramp gates were in the down position to prevent access."

I asked Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller if she had any reports about drivers going the wrong way in the 95 Express Lanes on Sunday.

She checked through police reports, and said that at 5:43 p.m., state police had received a report that a tan Toyota was  traveling south in the northbound lanes at  Exit 166B. "By the time the trooper was able to get to there, no vehicle was located."

I think that might be too late in the day for those of you who heard something on a WTOP traffic report, and she's checking further.

Did any of you drivers actually see a vehicle going the wrong way, or an entry ramp with the gates up when they should have been down? As the commenter says, this indeed would be a big deal.

I must note the tweet I quoted further up the thread (and forwarded to Dr. Gridlock) was poorly-written at best. I've found some people use bizarre terminology when referring to the roads (referring to E-ZPass as a "speedpass" is one of the more straightforward ones I've heard), so who knows what the person was attempting to say.

[jeffandnicole]

Are there cameras in the area, and do they record and retain video (as opposed to just permitting live-viewing)?

If one can determine where the wrong-way drivers entered and the time, does VDOT allow that video to be distributed?  Here in NJ, I believe video is held for 10 days, and for a fee, one can request video footage from a particular camera.

[cpzilliacus]

I think ALL of the 95 Express Lanes (as the 495 Express Lanes) are covered by video cameras. 

[Mapmikey]

Flashing yellow beacons have been installed at the south entrance of the 495 inner loop express lanes.  But only on the last ENTRANCE overhead sign before you are in the express lanes.  At highway speeds this gives a driver 2-3 seconds at most to decide on bailing.  Because the entrance is around the curve, this sign is not visible from all that far in advance either.

IMO if this is in response to the fatal crash where the lady from SC stopped in the travel lane and subsequently got hit by another car, this won't do much.  Beacons should be on the 2 or 3 overhead signs before the last one as well.

Mapmikey

[1995hoo]

I saw those were installed but hadn't yet seen them operating. Are they lit now?



Meanwhile, Channel 5 continues in their effort to invent an imaginary scandal for what they call "fines set by Transurban" (an inaccurate term because a fine is something entered by a court in a criminal case):

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28006946/virginia-politicians-react-to-e-zpass-express-lane-fines

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/26776372/man-gets-17000-e-zpass-fine-for-36-in-unpaid-express-lane-tolls

Rather transparent agenda when they're basically accusing the politicians of accepting bribes.

As I said before, I really don't understand the people who screw around and don't take the invoices seriously. People act like it's some sort of game. Seems to me ANY time you receive a bill saying you owe money you at least need to take it seriously and investigate.

Also as I said further back in this thread, it's not right that Virginia law does not compel Transurban at least to query the Virginia E-ZPass database for plate numbers before sending out bills. What's the point of registering your plate number on your account if the information won't be used? If indeed some form of transponder interoperability is on the horizon, this has to be addressed because it simply will not do for, say, a SunPass user to enter the E-ZPass facility and then receive a bill in the mail because (a) he didn't have an E-ZPass and (b) the toll operator refused to query the other systems' databases.

[Mapmikey]

I saw those were installed but hadn't yet seen them operating. Are they lit now?

Yes, they are indeed flashing yellow now

[1995hoo]

I saw those were installed but hadn't yet seen them operating. Are they lit now?

Yes, they are indeed flashing yellow now

Thanks for the info. I haven't driven in that direction in about a week. I had wondered if they were to be active at all times or only when there was a need for a warning of some kind (though you'd think the latter would be coupled with a message board of some sort).

I forgot to mention them here just because I'd see them and then forget about them because they hadn't affected the driving experience in any way!

[1995hoo]

Are there cameras in the area, and do they record and retain video (as opposed to just permitting live-viewing)?

If one can determine where the wrong-way drivers entered and the time, does VDOT allow that video to be distributed?  Here in NJ, I believe video is held for 10 days, and for a fee, one can request video footage from a particular camera.

Belated response to this question. I think I may have found the answer in the course of responding to the "General Highway Talk" thread about the Washington State resident with the $18,000 toll bill.

The Virginia statute regarding release of personal information by HO/T lane operators provided, in pertinent part, as follows:

B. Information collected by a photo-enforcement system shall be limited exclusively to that information that is necessary for the collection of unpaid tolls. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs, microphotographs, electronic images, or other data collected by a photo-enforcement system shall be used exclusively for the collection of unpaid tolls and shall not be (i) open to the public; (ii) sold or used for sales, solicitation, or marketing purposes; (iii) disclosed to any other entity except as may be necessary for the collection of unpaid tolls or to a vehicle owner or operator as part of a challenge to the imposition of a toll; or (iv) used in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a violation of § 33.2-503 or upon order from a court of competent jurisdiction. Information collected under this section shall be purged and not retained later than 30 days after the collection and reconciliation of any unpaid tolls, administrative fees, or civil penalties. Any entity operating a photo-enforcement system shall annually certify compliance with this section and make all records pertaining to such system available for inspection and audit by the Commissioner of Highways or the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles or their designee. Any violation of this subsection constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor. In addition to any fines or other penalties provided for by law, any money or other thing of value obtained as a result of a violation of this section shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+33.2-504

[davewiecking]

But is the "photo enforcement system" the same as the traffic cameras available over the Internet? Sitting at home, I could conceivably save those images. If I were willing to go to the gawd-awful website, click on a camera icon, wait for the map to scroll itself downwards for no reason at all, then wait 20 seconds for an image to appear. Of course those images don't really allow me to identify a particular car, but I could probably tell if one is going the wrong way.

[jeffandnicole]

But is the "photo enforcement system" the same as the traffic cameras available over the Internet? Sitting at home, I could conceivably save those images. If I were willing to go to the gawd-awful website, click on a camera icon, wait for the map to scroll itself downwards for no reason at all, then wait 20 seconds for an image to appear. Of course those images don't really allow me to identify a particular car, but I could probably tell if one is going the wrong way.

And in this case, it's not really necessary to know the vehicle that's going the wrong way, it's just necessary to know that a vehicle IS going the wrong way!

[cpzilliacus]

Dr. Gridlock in the Washington Post: New safety markers for 495 Express Lanes entrance

Drivers will notice some new safety features at the 495 Express Lanes northbound entry point near the Springfield interchange. The goal is to help drivers make sure they are in the correct lane to enter the northbound 495 Express Lanes, said Michael McGurk, the express lanes spokesman.

The 495 Express Lanes entry point is about a mile and a half west of the Springfield interchange on the left side of the Capital Beltway's inner loop.

An overhead entrance sign with flashing lights now appears just before the start of the white bollards that divide the express and regular lanes. The sign reads, "ENTRANCE ONLY."

Reflective pavement markers, raised slightly from the road surface, have been added for about a quarter-mile back from the start of the express lanes. This should enhance drivers' awareness that they are in the entry lanes, McGurk said.

[1995hoo]

I was on the Beltway earlier this afternoon heading to Fairfax. Did not notice any raised reflective markers.

[Mapmikey]

I was on the Beltway earlier this afternoon heading to Fairfax. Did not notice any raised reflective markers.

There are some reflectors on the dashed lines leading up to the entrance (no idea if they are brand new...wasn't paying attention to that before) but they look just like the ones on the regular lanes to me.  They might be "raised" with respect to being on top of the pavement instead of sunken into the pavement as is common in many areas.

As I opined above, the flashing beacons are next to worthless being only on the last overhead sign.

So if they are done "improving" the entrance, they didn't accomplish much.

Mapmikey

[1995hoo]

I drove on the Beltway express lanes again yesterday en route to Fairfax and I kept my eyes out for reflectors. It looked like the short skip line located between the second lane from the left (becomes the right lane of the express lanes) and the third lane (becomes the left lane of the main carriageway) had more reflectors than one usually sees between skip lines, but as you say, they looked like the same sort of reflectors you see between skip lines in standard lanes except that there appeared to be more of them.

I'd have to go through there during the night to be able to see what, if any, difference they make, but I don't go that way at night very often. During the day they simply aren't noticeable and, frankly, if VDOT and Transurban think they will somehow help call drivers' attention to the lane configuration, I think they're mistaken. The description of "reflective pavement markers" had me envisioning something different that you could see during the day, although I'm not really sure what I envisioned them installing.

[NJRoadfan]

Those purple/white dashed lines used in other E-ZPass facilities would come in handy.