This past week I had the opportunity to ride the I-15 Express Lanes several times back and forth between San Diego and Escondido. The old movable center barrier from when the lanes were first opened is still being used in the lanes, and the trucks used to move the barrier are still present at either ends, however, my understanding is that they've permanently made both directions two lanes on each side and control congestion through toll pricing rather than changing the number of available lanes during commute periods. If that is correct, does anyone know why the movable barrier is still being used and why they haven't installed K-rail or something more permanent?
The movable barrier is being moved once a week on Thursdays and they plan to move it more frequently. Over the last couple of years SANDAG and Caltrans have evaluated the performance of the lanes and they identified times when moving the barrier would help with operations. The Thursday operation has been going on for about a year, maybe more.
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Interesting. Do you know how that trial has been affecting traffic on the Express Lanes north of Via Rancho Parkway, where the lanes are locked in at two each direction due to the permanent center divider installed there after the last expansion?