I-66 HO/T Lanes

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: The I-66 deal is more like an armistice than a peace treaty for commuters

It's a big deal, but not a done deal. For commuters, the compromise between Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and the General Assembly on the future of one of America's most controversial highways will be meaningful only when things start to happen on I-66.

Feuding over I-66 was inevitable. People have been battling for decades over whether it should exist, who should use it and how big it should be. And it isn't going to stop just because some people in Richmond shake hands.

Once the governor made his announcement Wednesday morning, interested parties inundated us with their takes on the deal. Proponents and opponents of tolling and widening were unavoidable for comment.

[AlexandriaVA]

My point (and fear) exactly. This isn't over by a long shot.

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: Feds give go-ahead on I-66 transformation

The Federal Highway Administration has given its blessing to Virginia to move forward with plans to transform one of the region's most heavily congested commuter routes – Interstate 66 outside the Capital Beltway.

After a two-year study, the federal highway agency ruled that the Virginia Department of Transportation can begin seeking bids for design and construction of a multi-modal system in the 25-mile stretch between Route 15 in Haymarket and the Beltway.

[74/171FAN]

Gov. McAuliffe has announced that work will begin later this summer for I-66 Inside the Beltway.

[cpzilliacus]

Gov. McAuliffe has announced that work will begin later this summer for I-66 Inside the Beltway.

WTOP Radio: Toll gantry construction begins along I-66

Construction officially began Monday to add toll gantries over Interstate 66 east of the Capital Beltway.

Rush hour tolls for solo drivers are scheduled to begin next summer. Eight electronic toll gantries and a number of pricing signs will be installed in the meantime. That work will require some lane and ramp closures, mainly during overnight hours, which will be announced in advance.

"This will give solo drivers for the first time ever a new option to use lanes that are now restricted by paying a variable toll during the travel times,"  Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said at the official groundbreaking held on an overpass in Arlington County.

[74/171FAN]

Looking at the search function does not give me a good I-66 topic to post this in so I will post it here: (since the VA 28 interchange will ultimately be reconstructed)

There is a new traffic pattern on I-66 WB at VA 28 NB that is intended to make the right lane leading up to the interchange exit-only during the morning rush hour.  (see the graphic)

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Virginia breaks ground on I-66 HOT lanes project, without the

There were several unusual things about Monday's groundbreaking ceremony for the high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstate 66.

First, there was no ground to break. At such events, the dignitaries are normally provided with shovels and a pile of dirt to dig into. At this one, the project's go-ahead was marked by the illumination of an electronic message board proclaiming that the transformation of the interstate was about to begin.

The second noteworthy feature of the event was the presence of Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey (D). Those familiar with the decades of debate about the highway's future might have expected Arlington leadership to shun a project that would do anything other than close the interstate.

[The Ghostbuster]

As expected, there are a lot of complainers in the comments section. My advice to them: Don't use Interstate 66 if paying a toll to bypass gridlock will give you ulcers.

[jeffandnicole]

As expected, there are a lot of complainers in the comments section. My advice to them: Don't use Interstate 66 if paying a toll to bypass gridlock will give you ulcers.

To be fair, there's a lot to complain about here. 

[1995hoo]

Inside the Beltway, outbound I-66 works very well during HOV hours. You occasionally get the annoying troll doing 50 mph in the left lane who's impossible to pass, but for the most part it moves very quickly and it's possible to get from the Roosevelt Bridge to the Beltway in ten minutes. We use it regularly on the commute home (connecting to the I-495 HO/T lanes). The same is not true of inbound I-66 in the morning, due primarily to the Dulles merge and the subsquent drop from four lanes to two. It backs up. As it is right now, I cannot imagine when I'd be willing to pay a toll to sit in stopped traffic on that road.

The widening that's slated to follow the start of tolling may help since the majority of the traffic exits no further east than Ballston, but I wonder if a new backup will form further east due to the tolling changing access patterns for the Roosevelt Bridge (which is not, and will not be, part of the HO/T system).

I thought the original proposal to impose HO/T in BOTH directions during rush hours made sense, especially as Virginia works to turn Tysons Corner into a sort of high-density downtown-type area.

But the big thing I note is that this proposal does absolutely nothing to restrict anyone's access to I-66 (except the people with the clean-fuel exemption and Dulles Airport traffic) and instead gives more people the option of using it. As I say above, in the mornings that's a bit problematic because it's already congested and now there'll be more traffic dumped into the backup, but on the whole, if you're an SOV, you'll have a new option you didn't legally have before. You don't have to use that new option if you don't like it! The argument about the HOV-2 standard rising to HOV-3 is a bit of a red herring because VDOT had previously announced it was to rise to HOV-3 in 2020 regardless of whether an HO/T system were imposed.

[AlexandriaVA]

The widening that's slated to follow the start of tolling may help since the majority of the traffic exits no further east than Ballston, but I wonder if a new backup will form further east due to the tolling changing access patterns for the Roosevelt Bridge (which is not, and will not be, part of the HO/T system).

I have no reason to doubt you because I know you are a regular commuter, but I find that astonishing.

Did you mean to say "no further WEST than Ballston"?

I thought the original proposal to impose HO/T in BOTH directions during rush hours made sense, especially as Virginia works to turn Tysons Corner into a sort of high-density downtown-type area.

It would make things simpler too, I think (HOT 24x7, no exception). I suppose they can always just change that with the stroke of a pen.

But the big thing I note is that this proposal does absolutely nothing to restrict anyone's access to I-66 (except the people with the clean-fuel exemption and Dulles Airport traffic) and instead gives more people the option of using it. As I say above, in the mornings that's a bit problematic because it's already congested and now there'll be more traffic dumped into the backup, but on the whole, if you're an SOV, you'll have a new option you didn't legally have before. You don't have to use that new option if you don't like it! The argument about the HOV-2 standard rising to HOV-3 is a bit of a red herring because VDOT had previously announced it was to rise to HOV-3 in 2020 regardless of whether an HO/T system were imposed.

Well, it follows that in the morning, presumably the tolls would be very high.

[1995hoo]

No, I meant that inbound in the morning, the majority of the eastbound traffic doesn't continue east past Exit 71. Hence "exits no further east than Ballston"–that is, they exit at or before that point.

[AlexandriaVA]

That's pretty remarkable...I would have thought that DC would have significantly more destinations than Ballston or points west of Ballston. From the sound of it, that's not the case.

Perhaps the utility of 66 drops off once you get east of Ballston due the slowdowns, so people going all the way into downtown DC would just opt for the Orange Line instead?

[cpzilliacus]

That's pretty remarkable...I would have thought that DC would have significantly more destinations than Ballston or points west of Ballston. From the sound of it, that's not the case.

Perhaps the utility of 66 drops off once you get east of Ballston due the slowdowns, so people going all the way into downtown DC would just opt for the Orange Line instead?

The generally-accepted maximum load point on I-66 inside the Beltway has always been between Sycamore Street and Va. 237/Va. 120 (Fairfax Drive/Glebe Road at Exit 71).

Eastbound east of Exit 71, there is seldom much congestion until past the Rosslyn Tunnel - and severe congestion is often due to (as the WTOP traffic reporters put it) a "long standing" crash or other incident on the T. Roosevelt Bridge or elsewhere in D.C., such as the E Street, N.W. Expressway.

[froggie]

No, I meant that inbound in the morning, the majority of the eastbound traffic doesn't continue east past Exit 71. Hence "exits no further east than Ballston"–that is, they exit at or before that point.

Not according to traffic volume data.  Per the Traffic Technical Report done as part of the Inside the Beltway studies, there are about 8,600 vehicles on eastbound 66 east of Sycamore St during the AM peak (defined as 6:30-9am).  Of that 8,600, only about 1,200 exit at Fairfax Dr (Exit 71).

[1995hoo]

How many vehicles are there west of Sycamore? I see you linked it, but I'm posting from an iPhone and would prefer not to load something like that via a cellular connection on this small screen.

The traffic seriously thins out, regardless of traffic count, once you pass Exit 71, though if you don't take Exit 73 you get stuck in a backup heading for the Rosslyn tunnel.

Edited to add: Loaded it on my iPad at home. 274 pages? I don't care that much to dig through that.

[cpzilliacus]

Two way AADT's for 2015:

Fairfax County/Arlington County  line: 128000
Sycamore Street: 112000
Va. 237 - Fairfax Drive: 86000
Va. 120 - Glebe Road: 99000

[froggie]

Coming off the DTR, there are about 9,300 vehicles during the "AM Peak" (again, defined as 6:30-9am).  A little over 1,300 exit between Westmoreland (Exit 68) and Lee Hwy/Washington Blvd (Exit 69), then about 800 get on eastbound 66 from Sycamore.  Numbers don't add up exactly due to both rounding and how they did the individual ramp/segment counts in the report.

[mrsman]

So I guess a more precise way of explaining I-66 EB during morning rush is not that a majority of the traffic exits at Ballston (we see that that isn't true based on AADT counts), but that enough of the traffic does exit there so as to provide a significant reduction of congestion at that point.

Something similar happens on the outerloop of the Beltway in MD.  The road is very congested on the outerloop (westbound) from I-95/I-495 in College Park until Georgia Avenue, but once you get passed Georgia, the road generally flows at speed limit all the way to the 270 split.

[cpzilliacus]

So I guess a more precise way of explaining I-66 EB during morning rush is not that a majority of the traffic exits at Ballston (we see that that isn't true based on AADT counts), but that enough of the traffic does exit there so as to provide a significant reduction of congestion at that point.

[Emphasis added above]

Yes, sometimes a small reduction in traffic can lead to a big improvement in performance.

Something similar happens on the outerloop of the Beltway in MD.  The road is very congested on the outerloop (westbound) from I-95/I-495 in College Park until Georgia Avenue, but once you get passed Georgia, the road generally flows at speed limit all the way to the 270 split.

I think it is a different phenomenon at work there.  The 2015 AADT published in the Highway Location Reference says the two-way AADT at Md. 97 (Georgia) is 218,800 (Exit 31); just east of Md. 185 (Connecticut) (Exit 33) it is 227,870; and at Md. 355  (Rockville Pike) (just east of I-270) it is 212,690.

I've been driving that section of freeway over 40 years, and I believe the congestion eases once the last of heavy entry of traffic (in AM on the Outer Loop - headed toward employment in Bethesda, along I-270 and in Northern Virginia) has entered from Md. 97, everything flows more smoothly.

[74/171FAN]

Not currently directly related to the HOT lanes, but probably will be sooner rather than later.  I-66 widening to 8 lanes out from US 29 (Exit 43) in Gainesville to US 15 (Exit 40) in Haymarket is complete.

[cpzilliacus]

Not currently directly related to the HOT lanes, but probably will be sooner rather than later.  I-66 widening to 8 lanes out from US 29 (Exit 43) in Gainesville to US 15 (Exit 40) in Haymarket is complete.

Good news.  I have to wonder if there's going to be recurring afternoon congestion  on westbound I-66 approaching and passing U.S. 15.

[froggie]

As I understand it, there isn't much recurring mainline congestion once you're past Sudley Rd.  It's all after one's off 66, whether downstream on 29 or on the off-ramp to 15.  The new interchange at 55/Linton Hall will move the former further downstream, and the DDI will theoretically address some (but I doubt all) of the latter.

[cpzilliacus]

As I understand it, there isn't much recurring mainline congestion once you're past Sudley Rd.  It's all after one's off 66, whether downstream on 29 or on the off-ramp to 15.  The new interchange at 55/Linton Hall will move the former further downstream, and the DDI will theoretically address some (but I doubt all) of the latter.

There is a significant amount of new home construction beyond Fauquier County in jurisdictions like Warren County (around Front Royal) and Frederick County (and City of Winchester), at least some of which is "leapfrog" development, a frequently inevitable result of restrictive land use policies in counties closer-in.

[Jmiles32]

As I understand it, there isn't much recurring mainline congestion once you're past Sudley Rd.  It's all after one's off 66, whether downstream on 29 or on the off-ramp to 15.  The new interchange at 55/Linton Hall will move the former further downstream, and the DDI will theoretically address some (but I doubt all) of the latter.

The US-29 exit in Gainesville is where the real mainline congestion starts when going east and drops off when going west. In fact I believe the traffic on US-29 south of exit 43 is just about equal to the traffic west of exit 43 on I-66. Both the widening of I-66 to Haymarket and the recently completed US-29/Linton Hall Road interchange helped this area extremely when it comes to traffic. Pretty much the only thing left is that US-29 desperately needs to be widened from 4 to 6 lanes all the way to Warrenton.

I too also have my concerns about the new DDI in Haymarket as most of the current ones in the US are in more rural areas and haven't seen or used by commuters. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes  the local commuters here to adapt to it. Nevertheless I'm excited for its completion next summer.