Northern Virginia HOT Lanes

[mtantillo]

This is a poorly worded Post headline to announce this.  By suggesting drivers can try the lanes for free, it suggests that I as a non-HOV qualifier can use the lanes, whereas the explanation further down clearly says I cannot during rush hour.

Between now and Dec 29 there is no change in how the lanes operate from today, only that there will be 3 lanes north of Dale City and that they now extend to Garrisonville...

Mapmikey

I don't like the way they keep saying "Express Lanes opening" because two of the three lanes are already "open" most of the time (main exceptions being when they're reversing the direction or when they're closed for construction) and because the existing reversible lanes have been called the "express lanes" by many people for a good 40 years now. It's not like the Beltway where they constructed four entirely new lanes that are "express" in the New York Subway sense of not giving access to every interchange. Rather, they're beginning a new system of operating the existing express facility and making a tweak to the traffic pattern by adding a third lane. It's one reason why in some of my comments here and elsewhere I've referred to when "HO/T operations begin" or to the "HO/T conversion." (I adopted froggie's preference for that slash a long time ago because I feel it emphasizes "high-occupancy OR toll" and because I prefer to say "H-O-T" as three letters to be analogous to "HOV"—you don't say it like "huv lanes.")

I was just in Arlington on business and I drove back via the I-395 HOV about half an hour ago as I type this. The overhead E-ZPass Express VMS units were switched on and were displaying alternating messages. The first sign, going up the hill past Landmark Mall, switched between "NEW TRAFFIC PATTERN DEC 14" and "TOLLING BEGINS DEC 29." The next sign, just before the Duke Street overpass, switched between "NEW TRAFFIC PATTERN DEC 14" and "EZPASS REQUIRED STARTING DEC 29." The signs out in the general-purpose lanes were operating the same as normal. I exited at the Beltway and noted the Express Lanes VMS there was not turned on. I thought they ought to have ALL of them emphasizing the date on which E-ZPass is required.

Also saw some new yellow diamond-shaped signs saying "VARIABLE SPEED ZONE AHEAD" with the purple "E-ZPass Express" sign on top. When I exited onto the Beltway there was a white rectangular sign saying "END VARIABLE SPEED ZONE."

My preferred terminology would be: "Ramps and new lanes opening on Sunday", and "Tolls begin December 29". Effectively, the new ramps will all open as extensions of the old HOV system, but the big switchover will happen on the 29th.

Supposidly, WTOP will be calling them the "E-ZPass Lanes" on traffic reports, to distinguish them from the old H-O-V lanes.

[1995hoo]

....

Supposidly, WTOP will be calling them the "E-ZPass Lanes" on traffic reports, to distinguish them from the old H-O-V lanes.

That's the terminology Bob Marbourg has been using since November 2012 to refer to the Beltway's HO/T lanes. I haven't noticed the other traffic reporters using any terminology at all with regard to those lanes most of the time. As I've done in this thread, I sometimes refer to the "reversible lanes" or the "reversible carriageway" when referring to the system as a whole, but for obvious reasons that won't work well in a traffic report if you need to distinguish between the northern "HOV Lanes" portion and the southern "E-ZPass Express Lanes" portion.

I'm sure part of the reason Marbourg says "E-ZPass lanes" is that he's been around long enough that he refers to the existing reversible carriageway as the "express lanes." (I know one sign on I-395 still does too as of this afternoon, the advance southbound sign for the Seminary Road exit from the reversible lanes. It's attached to one of the on-ramps from King Street and it has an auxiliary sign reading "EXPRESS LANES ONLY" to indicate the sign is directed solely at people in the reversible lanes. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other signs that still say "express lanes." The ones near Landmark have been replaced with "E-ZPass EXPRESS" signs.)

You know, BTW, one benefit to this project is that the signs over the reversible lanes from Landmark on down to Aquia are much improved over the mish-mash of inconsistent signs that had been posted on that road in the past.

[cpzilliacus]

you don't pronounce "HOV" as a word at all

I do.

If you say so. I've never heard anyone pronounce it as a word.

The 64 reversible lanes in Norfolk are routinely called "the huv".  I've occasionally heard the term used for the 95/395 lanes as well, though mostly by military who are from or were stationed in California or Norfolk.

The Verizon Wireless GPS software (VZNavigator) calls them "huv lanes" - or at least it did the last time I used it (I no longer do).

[cpzilliacus]

WTOP Radio: 95 Express Lanes opening announced

Before a crowd of several hundred people Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the 95 Express Lanes will open this weekend, with toll collection beginning on Monday, Dec. 29.

The governor called the project a game changer that will dramatically improve commutes for drivers in Northern Virginia and keep the region viable for economic growth and development.

McAuliffe also renewed his call for the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund high-speed rail between D.C., Fredericksburg, Richmond and Hampton Roads. He says such a project would augment the impact of the 95 Express Lanes, giving commuters options to quickly get between the nation's capital and Virginia's capital.

[cpzilliacus]

You know, BTW, one benefit to this project is that the signs over the reversible lanes from Landmark on down to Aquia are much improved over the mish-mash of inconsistent signs that had been posted on that road in the past.

At least part of that mis-mash is due to the varied years at which the reversible lanes were completed.

As far south as (roughly) the present-day Va. 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway), they date back to the early 1970's. 

Then they were extended south to (roughly) the Occoquan River in the mid-1990's, and a few years later to their present terminus at Va. 234 near Dumfries.

[mtantillo]

I remember when they ended near Springfield in 1993, my first time in Virginia. Then to the Occoquan. Then to north of VA 234. Then to the present end in Dumfries around 1997 or so.

I always thought they would keep the momentum going and press southward, since they had even already constructed the bridge at Mine Road, which has just sat disused for well over 15 years now!

[mtantillo]

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).

[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 think that is up to Transurban, once they take control of the reversible roadway.

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).

I assume they will not enforce the HOV restrictions at the egress and access points any longer - all enforcement will be at the gantries, and directed at those that have an E-ZPass Flex transponder in the HOV position without the required three people in the vehicle. 

[1995hoo]

I think Mike's point was how they'll enforce HOV between now and December 29 at the new access points that don't have the existing HOV signage. I suppose they could put out portable VMS trailers. There aren't that many new access points in the morning, FWIW–I think just the lanes' southern end–but the afternoon has three new ones I can think of off the top of my head (new ramp in Newington from Alban Road/Boudinot Drive, new southbound slip ramp entry in the middle of Exit 161, new southbound slip ramp entry near Dale Boulevard).

Of course, there won't be any HOV restrictions in Virginia on Christmas Day per the usual practice, so that day doesn't matter. I don't know whether they will also waive it on Boxing Day since the feds have the day off. They won't waive it on Christmas Eve. So you have eight business days when it's a potential issue, and three of those (December 22 to 24) will see fairly light traffic.

Edited to add: Regarding access points, I believe the fourth new access point, that being the new afternoon-only ramp from the Fort Belvoir Proving Ground that will run into the Newington flyover, isn't ready to open yet. I need to go to Lorton at some point, so if I take i-95 (questionable on a Friday afternoon) I'll try to keep my eyes peeled.

[jeffandnicole]

Wouldn't the purpose of a trial period to be let everyone use it?  If you only restrict it to HOV traffic, then it's not a trial; it's status quo. 

For SOVs, the trial would be to see if they can get to/from where they need to go via those lanes.  They would want to encourage their use so when the trial is over, the SOVs...or in this case, the revenue generating vehicles, will continue to use those lanes.

Sure, you run into the possibility of jamming the lanes with SOVs.  But the nice thing about the timing of this trial period is the fact that work traffic falls during this time of year (while shopping traffic increases), so overall there's fewer commuters on the highway.

[1995hoo]

I don't believe they view this as a "trial period."

[mtantillo]

I think Mike's point was how they'll enforce HOV between now and December 29 at the new access points that don't have the existing HOV signage. I suppose they could put out portable VMS trailers. There aren't that many new access points in the morning, FWIW—I think just the lanes' southern end—but the afternoon has three new ones I can think of off the top of my head (new ramp in Newington from Alban Road/Boudinot Drive, new southbound slip ramp entry in the middle of Exit 161, new southbound slip ramp entry near Dale Boulevard).

Of course, there won't be any HOV restrictions in Virginia on Christmas Day per the usual practice, so that day doesn't matter. I don't know whether they will also waive it on Boxing Day since the feds have the day off. They won't waive it on Christmas Eve. So you have eight business days when it's a potential issue, and three of those (December 22 to 24) will see fairly light traffic.

Edited to add: Regarding access points, I believe the fourth new access point, that being the new afternoon-only ramp from the Fort Belvoir Proving Ground that will run into the Newington flyover, isn't ready to open yet. I need to go to Lorton at some point, so if I take i-95 (questionable on a Friday afternoon) I'll try to keep my eyes peeled.

Yes, you understood my point...it was how to enforce HOV during the Dec 14 - 29 period. I'm not sure that a digital message board alone, without a static white regulatory sign, can be legally enforced.

I wonder, will traffic be able to exit Fort Belvoir Proving Ground via that new ramp, and then "turn left" to get onto I-95 north? Essentially using the new access point but never actually entering the Express Lanes.

I also wonder, is there any way for the general public to use this ramp or does it literally begin within the restricted area of the military base?

[1995hoo]

....

I wonder, will traffic be able to exit Fort Belvoir Proving Ground via that new ramp, and then "turn left" to get onto I-95 north? Essentially using the new access point but never actually entering the Express Lanes.

I also wonder, is there any way for the general public to use this ramp or does it literally begin within the restricted area of the military base?

The answer to the first question is "yes." The ramp is to be open only during the hours when the Express Lanes are pointed southbound. Traffic using the ramp will be allowed to turn left into the northbound general-purpose lanes or right into the southbound Express Lanes. The ramp will not be open when the Express Lanes are pointed northbound for two reasons: (1) risk of people turning right and driving the wrong way on the Interstate; (2) probably more important in my view, traffic will be coming off the Express Lanes via that flyover at high speed and it'd be very unsafe to have slow-moving traffic entering the ramp there. That's also why the new ramp will never act as an exit FROM the Express Lanes TO the Proving Ground–people would have to slow down far too much going up the flyover in order to make the left turn onto the new ramp.

Regarding your other question, the ramp will begin at Heller Road; the exact location can be seen in the Google satellite view linked below (note the stub at the left side). I don't know whether the public can access Heller Road because I've never tried, never had any reason to bother and I didn't want to risk getting in some kind of trouble driving somewhere I wasn't supposed to (especially if I had my dashcam running). I have no idea where the security points are, though the satellite view suggests that road might be accessible. Now you've got me curious. I might have to drive over that way to see what I can see when I head to Lorton in about half an hour or so.

(This map my brother's company has online suggests Heller Road is accessible to the public, based on where it shows the security gates as being, but who knows. I know it is located within Fort Belvoir property, but that alone isn't determinative.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7503541,-77.1871033,418m/data=!3m1!1e3

[jeffandnicole]

I don't believe they view this as a "trial period."

Whoops...actually reading *all* of the article brought that to light! :-)

[1995hoo]

Quick update: Heller Road is indeed accessible to the public. So is Barta Road across the Proving Grounds–potentially a shortcut to the far side of the Fullerton Road area. I doubt most of the public will have any clue they can access the new ramp nor even how to do so.

I'll post a few pictures later today.

[cpzilliacus]

Quick update: Heller Road is indeed accessible to the public. So is Barta Road across the Proving Grounds–potentially a shortcut to the far side of the Fullerton Road area. I doubt most of the public will have any clue they can access the new ramp nor even how to do so.

I'll post a few pictures later today.

Definitely part of the Fort Belvoir North Area.

I have been there on official business (and not otherwise driven through there), but as best as I can tell, both Heller Road and Barta Road are indeed open to the public.

[1995hoo]

I'm back. As I said before (posting from my phone), Heller Road and Barta Road are both open to the public. There's almost no reason for a member of the public ever to use Heller except to access the ramp to the I-95 Express Lanes, but it's also easy to access them from the new entry/exit ramp in Newington that connects to the intersection of Alban Road and Boudinot Drive. There's very little reason why someone not coming from the Fort Belvoir facility would want to use the Heller Road access point. Also, aside from that ramp, the only way out of there for a member of the public is via Barta Road–at its southern end closer to Newington, Heller essentially dead-ends into a driveway for the intelligence facility located there. If you take the ramp to Heller from the Fairfax County Parkway or I-95 and you aren't an authorized vehicle, you essentially have to turn right and follow it towards Barta. (There are cameras all over the place and various pop-up barriers....I couldn't help but feel an irrational fear that they'd see me cutting a U-turn near the restricted area and pop up a barrier, but of course they didn't. I WAS tailed by a cop for a short distance on Barta Road, and when I saw him coming I pulled my dashcam off the windshield, but he didn't give me any trouble.)

That HO/T ramp COULD be a useful ramp if you were coming from the east side of US-1 (Terminal Drive area, Cinder Bed Road, etc.) and you want to go south in the HO/T lanes. The alternative is to exit at Boudinot Drive and go straight through two lights. I don't know which would be faster. If you're in the Fullerton Road area, the ramp at Boudinot would be more logical. Same if you're on Backlick Road–depending on where you are, either the Boudinot ramp or the Franconia—Springfield Parkway ramp is probably easier. Other thing is, there are no signs anywhere to indicate to a member of the general public that there's an entrance to I-95 back there. The average local driver will never know the option exists.

It was also interesting to note the sign for the ramp only refers to going south in the Express Lanes. According to the VDOT megaprojects site, you will also be able to use the ramp to go north in the general-purpose lanes.

Turning onto Heller from Barta was slightly disconcerting because they have some very sturdy 8'2" barriers to stop truck traffic. While I knew my car would easily clear that, it was still weird driving under it.

Going west on Barta beyond Heller is strange and uninviting because the road is two lanes each way but they have a security barrier consisting of a Jersey wall zig-zagging between the lanes–I guess you could say you go through some tight esses that appear designed to slow you down enough to allow their guards to pop up a barrier in front of you if they are suspicious of you.


I'm going to edit this to add some video and some other pictures of things I found interesting once I've compiled the video and created the pictures from screen captures.


Edited to add:

–Forgot to include the map link I meant to include. https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7494543,-77.1824766,15z

–First picture is on the southbound Fairfax County Parkway. Sorry about the graininess. It's a sign for the HO/T lanes. I found it interesting because of the yellow banner at the bottom: "USE BOUDINOT DR" with an arrow indicating to exit to the right.




–Second picture is on the existing ramp from the southbound Parkway to southbound I-95. To the right is the new ramp connecting the HO/T lanes and Alban Road/Boudinot Drive. You may recall there used to be access to southbound I-95's general-purpose lanes at that intersection. What I found interesting was to see a toll gantry placed over an exit/entrance ramp. I believe this is the only place on either set of Northern Virginia HO/T lanes that I've seen a toll gantry over a ramp. There's a gantry out in the lanes themselves next to this ramp. I'm a bit curious as to why they configured it this way instead of just having two gantries out in the lanes themselves, but I suspect it might have something to do with there being a northbound slip ramp located just to the south of the ramp–might that have been too many gantries in too short an area or something?




Video to come in a second edit.

Video of Heller Road showing where the ramp is and the dead-end and part of Barta Road is embedded below. There's a noticeable splice when the camera reset the clip at precisely the wrong time when I passed the HO/T lane ramp the first time. The intersection I reach after the splice is where the ramp comes off the Fairfax County Parkway and I-95. The ramp to the left at the beginning of the video is I-95's southbound Exit 166, marked for Backlick Road. You may or may not get an extended period of silence at the beginning–Billy Joel's "Pressure" was playing on the radio and it caused a copyright issue on YouTube, so I told their software to remove the song.

[cpzilliacus]

Hoo, thanks for sharing these. 

Last time I was down on Barta Road, the work for that long flying ramp from Heller Road to the I-95 managed lanes southbound was just getting started, and the entrance point is exactly where I remember it being. 

[1995hoo]

I forgot to mention, I did not get a look at the other end of the Heller Road ramp because I didn't take I-95 back north due to very heavy traffic that appeared not to be moving much. I was headed to Old Town, so I took Route 1 up to Mount Vernon Highway and then took that to the GW Parkway. Widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir is well underway, BTW, though the construction doesn't extend to the northern end of the base near Mount Vernon Highway where there's a controversy about the future of those stables located just southeast of the road.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir is well underway

Widening? Are they 6-laning US 1 through that area?

[1995hoo]

Widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir is well underway

Widening? Are they 6-laning US 1 through that area?

Yes, six thru lanes plus turn lanes where needed. They're also replacing the bridge over Accotink Creek. All the BRAC stuff plus the opening of the new hospital on the base put added pressure on them to get the widening underway.

Project website: http://rte1ftbelvoir.com/

[cpzilliacus]

Widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir is well underway

Widening? Are they 6-laning US 1 through that area?

Yes, six thru lanes plus turn lanes where needed. They're also replacing the bridge over Accotink Creek. All the BRAC stuff plus the opening of the new hospital on the base put added pressure on them to get the widening underway.

Have they torn down the railroad bridge over U.S. 1 yet?

[mtantillo]

Thanks for the insight, fellow hoo!

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?

[1995hoo]

Widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir is well underway

Widening? Are they 6-laning US 1 through that area?

Yes, six thru lanes plus turn lanes where needed. They're also replacing the bridge over Accotink Creek. All the BRAC stuff plus the opening of the new hospital on the base put added pressure on them to get the widening underway.

Have they torn down the railroad bridge over U.S. 1 yet?

Yes. Video of the entire work zone is below (as I type this, YouTube is still processing it, so it may not play; I also might have to tell it to mute the audio again if it raises a copyright flag).

http://youtu.be/YmDZJZRPgoY




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/

[cpzilliacus]

Thanks for the insight, fellow hoo!

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?

That might actually work, but I am not aware that anyone considered it! 

Clearly, there are no turning conflicts at the end of that long flyover where it joins the existing structure., and I think there is enough room for traffic to accelerate to merge in to I-95 northbound.

Only concern might be turning radius, as the turn would seem to be rather sharp.