WTOP Radio: Keeping the cheaters out of the new HOT lanes
For some reason I can't keep myself from looking at the reader comments on those articles. A lot of those people make ethanman62187 look like a towering intellectual.
The WTOP article also illustrates a point someone made in one of the now-deleted posts in this thread (one made in response to my comments above about the politicians doing a poor job of explaining the rationale for seeking to toll I-95) where somebody said that the media ignorance just makes it worse. The WTOP article notes that Fluor and Transurban are working out "a deal" with the Virginia State Police to have a dedicated HOT enforcement unit. I might be wrong, but "working out a deal" strongly implies that Fluor and Transurban will pay at least a substantial portion of the cost of these extra troopers, at least in terms of their salaries. But it's unclear. I assume part of the reason the story is vague about it is that the participants won't comment on a deal that's still under negotiation, which is standard procedure in the business world. It doesn't help to silence the whiners, though, when the story is devoid of detail. Adam Tuss certainly knows the details of the project, including the switchable E-ZPass, and it's a shame that WTOP's sound-bite radio format won't allow him to write a longer story for posting on their website.
The level of public ignorance about this project is really quite pathetic. Most of the time when I've talked to people about it and explained what I know of the details, people find it interesting and comment that the usual media outlets could explain these things a lot better. But I think a lot of the people you encounter commenting on these things online are people who don't think much beyond a second-grade level and who like to whine. "The HOT lanes suck, and if you like them, you suck too." Very enlightened commentary there.
BTW, semi-related: Last night I was on my way home from Fairview Park shortly after 10:00 PM and I took the Outer Loop. I noted that they've started laying steel for the HOT exit/entrance at Braddock Road. Those of you who use that part of the Beltway frequently may wish to keep your ears peeled, since at some point there will have to be night closures as they lay steel across the travel lanes (the ramp will fly over the Outer Loop and enter/exit the HOT lanes from the center of the roadway, i.e., a left exit for southbound traffic and a left entrance northbound).