Northern Virginia HOT Lanes

[1995hoo]

....

There is a "ramp gantry" at the Prince William Parkway exit. Remember that "gantry = enforcement point", so they may have felt it was a good location to run enforcement of the HOV rules.

I wonder if there will be a "ramp gantry" that will charge a small toll for the use of the new ramp from the Proving Grounds to I-95 north during PM rush hour?

Thanks for that info. I have not used that exit in a very long time because every time I've used the Prince William Parkway recently it's been early morning and the HOV lanes were going the other way.

I couldn't see any sign of a "ramp gantry" at the Heller Road ramp when I looked over as I was driving past. Doesn't mean there isn't one, of course.


Edited to add: I found something online that suggests Transurban did not build that ramp, which implies to me it probably won't be tolled for northbound traffic.

[cpzilliacus]

To get back to the topic of HO/T lanes, Dr. Gridlock just posted a blog entry saying the McAuliffe Administration intends to study HO/T lanes on I-66 inside the Beltway. Arlington County will consider that about as welcome as a loud fart in church. I can't imagine they'd cooperate with this given their intransigence on I-395. Arlington views I-66 not being widened as more of a sacred cow than anything to do with I-395.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2014/12/12/virginia-to-study-hot-lanes-inside-the-beltway/

Thanks for sharing.

I will not predict how this might turn out, but it is perhaps (IMO)  the best place (above all) in Northern Virginia to use pricing to manage traffic. 

A few issues (among many) that will spawn controversy:

(1)  This would (presumably) force a return to HOV-3 in order to get a free trip on I-66.  At least HOV-3 would be consistent with managed lanes on I-95 and I-495 in Virginia.

(2)  What about the "Dulles Exemption?" Allows traffic headed eastbound morning from the Dulles Access Road (only) to any point along I-66 between Exits 68 (Westmoreland Street) and the Rosslyn Tunnel (just before (Exit 75 (Va. 110)) to disregard HOV restrictions.  Westbound traffic entering I-66 at any point between Va. 110 and  Washington Boulevard (opposite Exit 75) and headed to the Dulles Access Road (only) also enjoys HOV exemption in the afternoon. 

I suppose if there is agreement to retain that exemption, any vehicle wanting it might be required to have any E-Z Pass transponder, and then have gantries near the far eastern end of the Dulles Access Road to match and zero-out toll transactions on I-66.

(3) What about traffic on the Dulles Connector Road that is not headed to the Dulles Access Road? Should such trips be tolled above and beyond the I-66 tolls?

(4)  Currently the off-peak-flow directions (westbound in A.M., eastbound in P.M.) inside the Beltway have no HOV restriction at all, but are often severely congested.  A lot of the drivers stuck in that congestion are Arlington County residents.

(5)  Presumably a properly priced I-66 will be able to carry more traffic than the (frequently congested) I-66 there today.  That could be the source of much disagreement.

(6)  There might be a legal issue with mandating that every driver have an E-ZPass transponder here, because I-66 has always been part of the Interstate system.

[mtantillo]

Somewhere...and I cannot for the life of me remember where, but in some Federal legislation, there is a requirement that agencies provide some form of method for those without an ETC transponder to access the "corridor". So HOT lanes don't necessarily count, since the regular lanes are what someone without a transponder could use. The only non-HOT type system I know of where a transponder (or account) is mandatory is in Houston on the Westpark tollway, and Sam Houston Tollway, but Harris County says the frontage roads maintain access for all.

But I could definitely see FHWA balking at the idea of any transponder requirement on I-66 if there are no un-tolled lanes. Transurban has been reluctant to do video tolling, and has a transponder requirement, but it seems like any tolling of I-66 inside the Beltway would not necessarily be Transurban or another PPTA participant, but more VDOT or a similar arrangement to the Elizabeth River Crossings in Norfolk, which do utilize video tolls on a corridor with no "free" lanes. I get the idea it would not be PPTA because a private firm like Transurban wants to keep the excess toll money, whereas Stewie Schwartz's comment in the article referenced all the money going to transit in the corridor (presumably WMATA, Loudoun County, PRTC).

With no transponder requirement, they could have a gantry on the Dulles Access Road to "zero out" toll charges for anyone going to the airport via video or transponder.

[NE2]

The only non-HOT type system I know of where a transponder (or account) is mandatory is in Houston on the Westpark tollway, and Sam Houston Tollway, but Harris County says the frontage roads maintain access for all.

There was the Wabash Memorial Bridge, but it's now toll-free.

[mtantillo]

The only non-HOT type system I know of where a transponder (or account) is mandatory is in Houston on the Westpark tollway, and Sam Houston Tollway, but Harris County says the frontage roads maintain access for all.

There was the Wabash Memorial Bridge, but it's now toll-free.

And interestingly enough....one of the reasons the Wabash Memorial Bridge had a transponder requirement was because.....  "Wabash Pass" used Harris County's EZ-Tag customer service center to do all of their processing. The Wabash Pass and EZ-Tag service centers were at the same address in Houston. So naturally the customer service people used the same rules.

One of the reasons Harris County refuses to do video tolling is that they do not have the authority under state law to issue lines of credit, and by letting someone use a toll road without immediately paying, and invoicing them later, it is equivalent to issuing a line of credit (or so they say). For some strange reason, every single other toll agency that has done AET has come to a different conclusion, but that is of no interest to them apparently.

[mtantillo]

Somewhere...and I cannot for the life of me remember where, but in some Federal legislation, there is a requirement that agencies provide some form of method for those without an ETC transponder to access the "corridor". So HOT lanes don't necessarily count, since the regular lanes are what someone without a transponder could use. The only non-HOT type system I know of where a transponder (or account) is mandatory is in Houston on the Westpark tollway, and Sam Houston Tollway, but Harris County says the frontage roads maintain access for all.

Okay, here is the relevant piece of legislation: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/23/950.5  (see section B)

I think this applies to pretty much everything except HOT lanes (which are under a separate section of the legislation), including all of the value pricing projects, tolling to fund reconstruction, tolling new added capacity (for all vehicles). This could very well explain why the I-95 Express Lanes in Maryland (tolled for all, authorized under the "added capacity can be tolled if the same number of free lanes is maintained" provisions) allow video tolls, but the I-95 and I-495 Express Lanes in Virginia (tolled for non-HOV's, authorized under HOV/HOT/congestion management provisions) to not allow those without E-ZPass to use.

[1995hoo]

I note they didn't necessarily say they'd explore a full conversion of all lanes. I pictured a single HO/T lane on the left when I read it.

[cpzilliacus]

I note they didn't necessarily say they'd explore a full conversion of all lanes. I pictured a single HO/T lane on the left when I read it.

That would be tough to implement, and make it difficult (impossible?) to pass. What about the exits? 

The late Dr. John Nestor would have had a lot of fun with that sort of configuration.

[cpzilliacus]

article referenced all the money going to transit in the corridor (presumably WMATA, Loudoun County, PRTC).

This is an instance where I have no problem with some toll revenue going to cross-subsidize transit operations (in the same or near the same corridor).

But pay the bondholders (if there are any), maintain and police the road - first.  No Pennsylvania Act 44-type deal, where the toll road is asked to borrow money to fork over to transit subsidies.

And before a money pipeline is opened to transit, the transit operators should be relying on the private sector to maintain and drive the buses and other transit vehicles.  PRTC, Fairfax Connector, Loudoun Commuter Express and ART do. 

[cpzilliacus]

One thing I kind of wonder is why they are keeping the HOV rules in effect through the whole trial period. I can understand during the first week of the trial, since that is essentially a normal workweek. But the second week is essentially only two normal days, then Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and December 26 (which is a Federal holiday, per Obama's Executive Order). So I'm sure commuter traffic would be very light those days, to me it would make some sense to allow non HOV's to commute in the lanes toll-free for a couple of days, to practice for the real deal on the 29th when those people may choose to pay to commute in the new lanes regularly or semi-regularly. To me, it kind of waters down the "free trial" if some of the most important users (the ones who will be paying top dollar to ride in these lanes with fewer than 3 during peak hours) are totally excluded from the entire duration of the trial, even on some of the lightest traffic days of the year.

I also wonder how they will actually enforce HOV rules at the new entrances that don't have any permanent HOV signing (the pre-existing entrances mostly have some signs that will be taken down)? Presumably they would display HOV-3+ on the VMS portion of the Express Lane signs, but does that carry the same legal weight as a permanent white regulatory sign? I could see anyone who uses a new entrance point and gets an HOV ticket getting it thrown out in court, given that there are no permanent signs, and the only signs there are express lane signs, and the Express Lanes don't normally  have the ability to restrict to HOV-3 Only (if the lanes are congested, they raise the price).

From the Transurban 95 Express Lanes Web site (emphasis added):

Roadway improvements have been completed early, so we're opening new ramps and lanes on I-95 on December 14 to allow you to benefit from the additional capacity during the holiday season. Standard HOV rules will continue to be in effect during rush hour until tolling begins on December 29, with the exception of holidays. Outside HOV hours, anyone can try the new Lanes for free.

[1995hoo]

I note they didn't necessarily say they'd explore a full conversion of all lanes. I pictured a single HO/T lane on the left when I read it.

That would be tough to implement, and make it difficult (impossible?) to pass. What about the exits? 

The late Dr. John Nestor would have had a lot of fun with that sort of configuration.

I meant one additional lane operated as HO/T, not conversion of an existing one.

[vdeane]

The only non-HOT type system I know of where a transponder (or account) is mandatory is in Houston on the Westpark tollway, and Sam Houston Tollway, but Harris County says the frontage roads maintain access for all.

There was the Wabash Memorial Bridge, but it's now toll-free.

Good.  IMO the idea of a low-traffic rural bridge in the middle of nowhere requiring a transponder that could only be used on said bridge and was interoperable with nothing, even though Indiana is an E-ZPass member, was one of the stupidest ideas in the history of ideas.  I wonder of the requirement to be interoperable by 2016 was a factor in the decision to remove tolls.

[froggie]

I meant one additional lane operated as HO/T, not conversion of an existing one.

That's definitely not going to happen.  I was under the distinct impression from the recent study that the idea to convert 66 to HO/T would be conversion of all existing lanes but not add any new lanes.

[1995hoo]

There's a minimally more detailed article in today's paper. Of course, the photo is of an interchange outside the Beltway.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/officials-to-consider-road-widening-hot-lanes-through-arlington-portion-of-i-66/2014/12/12/2bf9a97e-824a-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html

[cpzilliacus]

I meant one additional lane operated as HO/T, not conversion of an existing one.

That's definitely not going to happen.  I was under the distinct impression from the recent study that the idea to convert 66 to HO/T would be conversion of all existing lanes but not add any new lanes.

Arlington County's elected officials were confident that they would stop all of I-66  between I-495 and Rosslyn in the planning process or in court.

They didn't.  What the Commonwealth wants, the Commonwealth usually gets.  In this case a scaled-down version of what VDH originally wanted, but still a continuous freeway to close that gap, which Arlington had vowed to stop.

Having said that, there is not really much widening that is warranted (IMO) - 3.8 miles according to Google Maps, and much of it (especially on the westbound side) has already been widened.

I would like to see continuous three lanes all the way from the Dulles Connector Road's half interchange, Exit 67 (westbound only) to the Exit 71 for Va. 120/Va. 237 (North Glebe Road) (eastbound side).  Much of the added lane work is already in place (in particular on the westbound side between Exit 71 to Exit 69 (Sycamore Street).

[cpzilliacus]

Dr. Gridlock in the Washington Post: 95 Express Lanes set to open Sunday evening

Starting Sunday evening, the 95 Express Lanes will open in Northern Virginia, but the project isn't complete. Here's what I-95/395 drivers need to know for the next two weeks.

No tolls at first. All the new lanes and ramps are opening along the system's 29 miles between Garrisonville Road in Stafford County and the Edsall Road area just inside the Capital Beltway. They will be free for all drivers until Dec. 29. But HOV3 rules will be in effect at peak periods all along the express lanes route, even in the nine-mile section to the south that consists of completely new lanes.

At off-peak hours and on weekends, the lanes will be open to all drivers during the two-week transition to regular operations.

[1995hoo]

I drove my wife to work this morning because she had several bags of stuff to donate to an office clothing drive. Didn't enter I-395 until the King Street exit on the way in. On the way back out of the city I took it all the way to the Beltway. Express lanes were pointed inbound, of course, and it was still during HOV hours. HOV volume appeared light. Saw one vehicle using the new exit flyover at Turkeycock. I did get a look at the lane control signals and the variable speed limit signs, the latter via my mirrors. The lane control signals appear to be more brightly-lit than the ones over the I-66 shoulder lane. Should be easier to see in sun glare and the like. The variable speed limit signs are the style that used to be in use on the Beltway from Springfield to the Wilson Bridge during the construction a few years ago and currently in use on US-27 west of Pembroke Pines, Florida–the style that looks like a black number on a white background, rather than the illuminated yellow number on a black background like on I-495 in Delaware. The style they're using looks more like a conventional speed limit sign. To my eyes, the Delaware style signs are easier to see because the numbers seem brighter.

WTOP said there were traffic snarls at the lanes' southern end near Aquia but didn't say what the problem was. I didn't hear any mention of accidents, so I assume part of the issue may be with people entering from Route 610 (there is a very busy slug lot at that interchange) and trying to cut directly across to the express lanes. The next entrance is the lanes' old southern terminus near Route 234, nine miles to the north, so there's certainly some incentive to try to cut across. Too bad it couldn't have been constructed as a right-side exit onto a flyover the way the southbound terminus is set up.

[Mapmikey]

At 5:05 this morning 95 NB was backed up approaching the Aquia Interchange but this backup did not stay solid to the entrance ramp for the Express Lanes.  This interchange backs up fairly regularly because of the huge number of people using the clover from EB SR 610 to NB 95.

As I have stated before I also wonder why no flyover for the entrance in Aquia.

My expectation for the afternoon is that since eligibility for the lanes hasn't changed yet, the normal Woodbridge backup where the mainline drops from 4 to 3 lanes will be the same.  I expect the backup in Dumfries from the old HOV end will move to Aquia, but I think it will be worse because instead of a simple merge it will be a weave with a substantial number of people on mainline 95 wanting to exit at Aquia.  Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Personally after 12/29 I will have to figure out if it is better for me to use the toll lane all the way to the end or to get off at the new Triangle flyover instead...

Mapmikey

[1995hoo]

I think we might see some level of slowdown or lane-changing at the Prince William Parkway in the afternoons because the right lane of three will now become exit-only there. In the past, the reversible carriageway was two lanes and there was a conventional deceleration lane at that exit. I suspect the exit-only aspect will catch some people by surprise. It SHOULDN'T be a big deal, but you know how people around here overreact to such things....

[mtantillo]

I think we might see some level of slowdown or lane-changing at the Prince William Parkway in the afternoons because the right lane of three will now become exit-only there. In the past, the reversible carriageway was two lanes and there was a conventional deceleration lane at that exit. I suspect the exit-only aspect will catch some people by surprise. It SHOULDN'T be a big deal, but you know how people around here overreact to such things....

Yesterday when I rode the lanes northbound, anyone entering at Prince William Parkway tried to immediately "merge" over to the right, even though they don't have to anymore.

[1995hoo]

I think we might see some level of slowdown or lane-changing at the Prince William Parkway in the afternoons because the right lane of three will now become exit-only there. In the past, the reversible carriageway was two lanes and there was a conventional deceleration lane at that exit. I suspect the exit-only aspect will catch some people by surprise. It SHOULDN'T be a big deal, but you know how people around here overreact to such things....

Yesterday when I rode the lanes northbound, anyone entering at Prince William Parkway tried to immediately "merge" over to the right, even though they don't have to anymore.

As long as they do so safely, I consider that commendable because it means they're not hogging the left lane.

[cpzilliacus]

I think we might see some level of slowdown or lane-changing at the Prince William Parkway in the afternoons because the right lane of three will now become exit-only there. In the past, the reversible carriageway was two lanes and there was a conventional deceleration lane at that exit. I suspect the exit-only aspect will catch some people by surprise. It SHOULDN'T be a big deal, but you know how people around here overreact to such things....

Yesterday when I rode the lanes northbound, anyone entering at Prince William Parkway tried to immediately "merge" over to the right, even though they don't have to anymore.

As long as they do so safely, I consider that commendable because it means they're not hogging the left lane.

The worst Nestoring I ever observed in the I-95/I-395 restricted lanes was back in the days of the old District of Columbia Lorton Reformatory (which came to an end after the Republican Party took over Congress in the 1994 elections - D.C. felons are now incarcerated in the federal Bureau of Prisons).

The D.C. Department of Corrections had a fleet of old prison buses that would shuttle felons between the prison site in Lorton and (presumably) their day in court in Washington.  Headed south from D.C. in the afternoons, the DCDC buses would invariably drive relatively slowly in the left lane of the restricted roadway (they were, after all, providing a form of mass transportation), causing a long queue of vehicles to form behind the bus or buses.

[1995hoo]

I continue to shake my head at some of the silly questions people ask. Dr. Gridlock had an online Q-and-A session at noon today (http://live.washingtonpost.com/gridlock1215.html) and someone posted the following question. I mean, come on, use your own two eyes! Anyone who's been on I-95 at any point in recent years should have been able to tell it wouldn't be two sets of lanes like on the Beltway.

I thought I remember at one point reading that the project that opened last night was going to be a permanent set of HOT lanes operating in both directions (similar to beltway HOT lanes)–up until Edsall Road. All that I've read now about Edsall road is that people in the HOT lanes may cause a backup because they have to get off if they're not HOV (because that's the transition). Is my original assumption–that from Stafford to Edsall there would be 24/7 2-way HOT lanes–wrong? Or is there so little worry about it that there's just nothing written (that I've seen at least)?

[mtantillo]

I continue to shake my head at some of the silly questions people ask. Dr. Gridlock had an online Q-and-A session at noon today (http://live.washingtonpost.com/gridlock1215.html) and someone posted the following question. I mean, come on, use your own two eyes! Anyone who's been on I-95 at any point in recent years should have been able to tell it wouldn't be two sets of lanes like on the Beltway.

I thought I remember at one point reading that the project that opened last night was going to be a permanent set of HOT lanes operating in both directions (similar to beltway HOT lanes)—up until Edsall Road. All that I've read now about Edsall road is that people in the HOT lanes may cause a backup because they have to get off if they're not HOV (because that's the transition). Is my original assumption—that from Stafford to Edsall there would be 24/7 2-way HOT lanes—wrong? Or is there so little worry about it that there's just nothing written (that I've seen at least)?

You beat me to it...I was just about to post that gem of a quote.

No matter how much public outreach you do, there is no shortage of clueless people out there...

Between the people that have no clue, the people who don't understand a darn thing about how congestion pricing and basic supply/demand works, and the people who think that 5 lanes of stopped traffic is better than 3 lanes of stopped traffic and 2 lanes managed to operate at speed...

[jeffandnicole]

Or this...

Q:   I-95 Express Lanes   

Maybe I missed the description (or am just confused) but will the new I-95 express lanes that just opened up be open to both Northbound AND Southbound traffic at the same time? Or will they function like the old HOV lanes and be Northbound in morning rush hour & Southbound in evening rush hour?

A: Robert Thomson 

The 95 Express Lanes are the most complicated highway system in the D.C. region and will take a while to get used to.

They express lanes are reversible and will follow the same schedule as the HOV3 lanes did. So this is different from the Beltway express lanes. That project added four new lanes, so you have two in each direction on the 495 Express Lanes.

Or This Shoutout...

Q:   Maryland HOT lanes   

I don't drive I-95 north of Baltimore very often but last week I was able to try out their new HOT lanes for free. I entered the lanes at the northern-most point and exited at 895. I was very impressed with the limited on/off ramps (keeps confusion to minimum) and also the signage was very clear. In both regards, the lanes were easier to use than the Beltway's current HOT lanes. Will the per-mile pricing rates be similar all over I-95?

A: Robert Thomson 

Maryland doesn't have any HOT lanes. I mention this just to illustrate how complex these new tolling systems can be, and why it takes us time to learn how to use them.

HOT stands for high-occupancy toll. (Even that term is confusing. I like the way frequent blog commenter 1995hoo writes it: HO/T, for high-occupany/toll. You either ride free as a high-occupancy carpooler, or you pay a toll.)

Maryland has all-electronic tolling on the Intercounty Connector and on the brand new I-95 Express Toll Lanes that the commenter drove last week. But it doesn't offer free rides to carpoolers.

Maryland also doesn't use "dynamic pricing" in setting the toll rates. Maryland has a variable tolling system, where the toll you pay is set to the time of day you drive.

In the Virginia express lanes, there's no upper limit on the toll. It varies with the level of traffic and the distance you drive.