Northern Virginia HOT Lanes

[cpzilliacus]

And how long were those condos/apts there?

Based on aerial imagery, looks like construction on them began in 2008, a few years before the HO/T lane project was finalized and begun.

If I recall, around then the project was under discussion but there was still talk of running it all the way to Massaponax. Perhaps a different configuration around Aquia was envisioned?

Discussion about extending the managed lanes along the I-95 Corridor south has been going on off-and-on since they were extended south to just south of Va. 234.  You may remember that the bridge now being used for the 95 Express Lanes over Mine Road and Dumfries Creek (here sat unused for quite a few years after it was used as a (temporary) detour while the bridges carrying the conventional lanes had their decks replaced.

Jeff, it's worth noting that part of the reason you pass next to nothing north of there is that once you pass Route 234 on your way south, you pass Prince William Forest Park (west of the highway), Forest Greens Golf Course (also west of the highway and part of a county-owned park; it's fairly easy to see from the road during winter), and Marine Corps Base Quantico (both sides of the highway). So those things all preclude much development through that area and Exit 143 is the first place south of all that where stuff could grow up.

Agreed.   Though the Defense Department consolidated its criminal investigations network agencies at a site off of Telegraph Road west of I-95, which brought a lot of added jobs to the MCB Quantico site.

[froggie]

If I recall, around then the project was under discussion but there was still talk of running it all the way to Massaponax. Perhaps a different configuration around Aquia was envisioned?

As I recall, the project was shortened from Massaponax to Garrisonville at the same time that it was dropped from Arlington.  Prior to the announcement that it would end at Turkeycock, the plan was still to go to Massaponax.  Though it didn't get as much press, I believe the truncation to Garrisonville was done as a cost-saving measure.

[cpzilliacus]

If I recall, around then the project was under discussion but there was still talk of running it all the way to Massaponax. Perhaps a different configuration around Aquia was envisioned?

As I recall, the project was shortened from Massaponax to Garrisonville at the same time that it was dropped from Arlington.

You recall correctly.  I saw the plans online, which showed the managed lanes going all the way to Massaponax.

Prior to the announcement that it would end at Turkeycock, the plan was still to go to Massaponax.  Though it didn't get as much press, I believe the truncation to Garrisonville was done as a cost-saving measure.

I think that's correct.  But the loss of revenue by not being able to collect tolls from traffic north of Turkeycock Run may have made selling bonds for the section south of Garrisonville dicey at best.   

Though I am not sure I would give up on either of those sections becoming managed HOV/Toll lanes at this point.  Do not forget that D.C. is still interested in tolling the former HOV spans across the Potomac River at the 14th Street Bridge complex. 

[1995hoo]

Dr. Gridlock reports on VDOT considering making I-66 inside the Beltway fully HO/T. Four things I find particularly interesting:

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

(2) HO/T would be in effect in both directions during peak hours, not just in the peak direction as is the case with the current HOV rules.

(3) HO/T would not apply outside peak hours.

(4) VDOT would operate the HO/T system itself, rather than contracting it out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/01/21/i-66-could-go-all-hot-inside-the-beltway/

[froggie]

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

Increasing congestion, even during peak, is what was driving this one (pun intended).

The question mark with such a plan, which has been discussed in the past, is how this would affect the agreements allowing solo drivers onto I-66 during the peak if they're going to/from Dulles.

[1995hoo]

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

Increasing congestion, even during peak, is what was driving this one (pun intended).

The question mark with such a plan, which has been discussed in the past, is how this would affect the agreements allowing solo drivers onto I-66 during the peak if they're going to/from Dulles.

Regarding the HOV-3, I found it interesting just because I didn't know it was formally planned. I knew the idea had been discussed. I've certainly noticed how much worse the morning peak-direction congestion is even during HOV-2 hours.

Regarding the Dulles issue, I think you're right about it being a potential problem. I noted in my comments to that blog post that it would not be technologically difficult to put an E-ZPass gantry over the Dulles Access Road near Route 123 so that anyone who heads out I-66 and onto the Access Road is credited with a $0.00 toll. We know that can be done because Maine does something similar with the West Gardiner Toll Plaza. Yes, there would surely be cheaters. But there are already cheaters today. I doubt the number of cheaters would severely spike upwards because I question whether the average driver will, on a day-to-day basis, be willing to drive an extra 20 miles (16 miles from I-66 to Dulles, then some distance to backtrack) in order to avoid that toll.

However, there would surely be protests from people who do not have E-ZPass who want to use I-66 and the Access Road. Presumably the cameras could catch that–if, after all, they're already reviewing the photos in order to bill people who use the existing HO/T lanes without E-ZPass, why couldn't the same apply in this case to determine that a particular vehicle should not be tolled? I have no idea how practical this idea is nor how much it would cost to implement it, but it doesn't seem far-fetched to me.

[vdeane]

Yeah, couldn't they just put a gantry over the Dulles access road to snap a picture of every licence plate that goes by and voids out any tolls/fees incurred on the corresponding trip on the HOT lanes?

Any particular reason for going HOT both directions during peak hours rather than just the commuting direction?

[1995hoo]

....

Any particular reason for going HOT both directions during peak hours rather than just the commuting direction?

I assume it's due to congestion. I-66 inside the Beltway is a strange beast in that it's the rare road that is almost always congested (well, maybe not in the middle of the night) except for the peak direction during peak hours. If I pick up Ms1995hoo at her office and we head west on I-66 as an HOV-2 during the afternoon rush hour, we'll be doing 65 mph and the inbound side will be at a standstill. On the rare occasions when I drive her to work in the morning and we use inbound I-66 following the suggestion mtantillo made way back in the first post in this thread, we can see the outbound side is at a standstill through Arlington.

In practical terms, I think VDOT's recognizing that the 1960s/1970s planning model in which everyone was assumed to commute into downtown DC in the morning and back out in the afternoon is no longer a realistic model. The term "reverse commute" has been around for years to refer to people who live closer in (either DC or Arlington) and commute out to suburban destinations (Arlington to Tysons is a fine example). But "reverse commute" isn't really the right term anymore either because there are so many commutes from suburb to suburb–for example, we live about a mile and a half outside the Beltway and one of our neighbors commutes to Tysons. Once the planners finally accept that the old "suburb to city" model is outdated, it becomes important to manage the traffic and congestion caused by other commutes. I think the idea of bidirectional HO/T lanes during peak hours is a stab at recognizing that sort of thing and managing the congestion.

(Back in June 2003 when I went from downtown to Dulles Airport in the morning to see the final Air France Concorde landing at Dulles, I wound up exiting I-66 and driving through Arlington's streets. It was faster than I-66 even though the speed limit was 30 mph and there were red lights.)

[cpzilliacus]

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

Increasing congestion, even during peak, is what was driving this one (pun intended).

And air quality modeling assumptions.

The question mark with such a plan, which has been discussed in the past, is how this would affect the agreements allowing solo drivers onto I-66 during the peak if they're going to/from Dulles.

Two possibilities:

(1) Eliminate it; or

(2) A variant on what Valerie suggested above, put gantries over the far eastern end of "secret" Va. 90004 (Dulles Access Road), near Va. 123, and record the E-ZPass Transponder numbers of passing vehicles, and if they were driven under gantries on I-66 between Rosslyn and the Dulles Connector Road, zero-out that toll.  But make it clear by signage that only vehicles with E-ZPass get a toll-free ride on I-66.

[cpzilliacus]

....

Any particular reason for going HOT both directions during peak hours rather than just the commuting direction?

I assume it's due to congestion. I-66 inside the Beltway is a strange beast in that it's the rare road that is almost always congested (well, maybe not in the middle of the night) except for the peak direction during peak hours. If I pick up Ms1995hoo at her office and we head west on I-66 as an HOV-2 during the afternoon rush hour, we'll be doing 65 mph and the inbound side will be at a standstill. On the rare occasions when I drive her to work in the morning and we use inbound I-66 following the suggestion mtantillo made way back in the first post in this thread, we can see the outbound side is at a standstill through Arlington.

I-66 is frequently congested during times when it "should" not be.  It's interesting to watch the massive amount of traffic that enters I-66 westbound from the Hallowed Ground of transit-oriented Ballston area of Arlington County via Va. 120 (North Glebe Road) and then the part of Fairfax Drive that leads to I-66. 

In practical terms, I think VDOT's recognizing that the 1960s/1970s planning model in which everyone was assumed to commute into downtown DC in the morning and back out in the afternoon is no longer a realistic model. The term "reverse commute" has been around for years to refer to people who live closer in (either DC or Arlington) and commute out to suburban destinations (Arlington to Tysons is a fine example). But "reverse commute" isn't really the right term anymore either because there are so many commutes from suburb to suburb–for example, we live about a mile and a half outside the Beltway and one of our neighbors commutes to Tysons. Once the planners finally accept that the old "suburb to city" model is outdated, it becomes important to manage the traffic and congestion caused by other commutes. I think the idea of bidirectional HO/T lanes during peak hours is a stab at recognizing that sort of thing and managing the congestion.

Agreed.  The main reason for "promotion" of traditional commutes (from suburbs to downtown in AM and downtown to suburbs in PM) is because that's the only trip pattern that can effectively serve a lot of people with transit.  Montgomery County, Maryland's large population of civic activists and environmentalists over and over and over claimed that radial commutes are the only ones that matter, and that circumferential commutes on the Capital Beltway (and recently on the ICC) should be ignored.

(Back in June 2003 when I went from downtown to Dulles Airport in the morning to see the final Air France Concorde landing at Dulles, I wound up exiting I-66 and driving through Arlington's streets. It was faster than I-66 even though the speed limit was 30 mph and there were red lights.)

I have done that myself, though westbound I-66 is better since the extra lane was added between Fairfax Drive and Sycamore Street.

[mrsman]

Dr. Gridlock reports on VDOT considering making I-66 inside the Beltway fully HO/T. Four things I find particularly interesting:

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

(2) HO/T would be in effect in both directions during peak hours, not just in the peak direction as is the case with the current HOV rules.

(3) HO/T would not apply outside peak hours.

(4) VDOT would operate the HO/T system itself, rather than contracting it out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/01/21/i-66-could-go-all-hot-inside-the-beltway/

As others have said, I-66 is different from 95 and 495.  95 and 495 still have the free lanes, for I-66 the only lanes available would become HOT.  The free options are surface streets or semi-expressways like US 50. For that regard, they would only apply HOT for a very limited context - rush hours.  The private sector would probably not want to get involved because of the limited hours of collection, so VDOT will be running the program.

And as far as reverse commuting goes, I-66 is basically the D.C. version of the Santa Monica Freeway in the LA area.  Historically, traffic was worse going to Downtown LA in the morning, but now it's the opposite as there has been so much job growth in Santa Monica and West LA.  The dominant commuting direction is now away from Downtown.  And that's the case with Tysons, more traffic heading to Tysons, since there is no HOV restriction and [until Silver line came] it was very hard to use transit to Tysons, so more people would drive in that direction.

IMO, I'd be glad to see the Dulles exemption go away.  Airport travelers (just like hybrid drivers) do not deserve a special exemption from traffic and tolls.  Let all drivers in the corridor pay toll within the Beltway, whether heading to Fairfax, Tysons, or Dulles.  Turn the Dulles Access Road into a HOV lane and single occupant drivers to Dulles should use the regular lanes of the Toll Road and all drivers on the Dulles Highway (DAR + DTR) between the Beltway and Sully Rd should pay tolls.

[1995hoo]

May I just say how refreshing and nice it is to see intelligent commentary here on issues such as this one? I was just looking at the comments on Dr. Gridlock's blog and the level of stupidity displayed by some of those people just makes me shake my head. There are some people who don't like the HO/T lanes or the way they are operated who have some well-reasoned points, but a lot of the people appear to have the writing ability of third-graders and the intelligence to match.

"These lanes have ruined the Beltway." How, exactly, has that happened when you still have the same number of lanes available to all traffic (with the same lane restrictions for HAZMATs) you had before, plus a rebuilt I-66 interchange and an extra lane between there and Tysons? Now, back when the Beltway lanes opened there was a brief–less than a week–furor about the crashes at the lanes' southern end on the Inner Loop. The usual suspects wanted to condemn the entire project as an unsafe disaster. Guess what? People got used to the new configuration and you don't hear much about it anymore (although there was a crash there earlier this week in circumstances that were not mentioned on the news).

I am glad our transportation planners and highway engineers don't make snap judgments based on two or three weeks' worth of data. I must say, though, that's one thing that gives me pause about VDOT's I-66 proposal. The I-66 proposal is more comparable to the I-95 HO/T lanes than it is to the Beltway lanes because it involves taking existing lanes and converting them to HO/T. Because it involves converting the lanes running in the non-peak direction at rush hour, which are currently unrestricted except for the truck ban, I see it as imposing new restrictions on lanes currently open to all traffic. I certainly understand why that angers people, and I think VDOT should take the time to allow for the generation of, and examination of, meaningful data from I-95 to see how the 24/7 HO/T operations affect traffic there. It's only been three and a half weeks since tolling began on I-95, so it's way too soon to draw any conclusions. It took a while for traffic in the Beltway lanes to ramp up, but there's definitely way more traffic in them now than there was when they opened.

I think VDOT needs to wait a year or so and examine I-95 to see just how much effect there is on the general-purpose lanes and parallel roads like Route 1 due to people who formerly used the reversible lanes outside HOV hours and are now unwilling to pay a toll. It continues to surprise me on the Beltway just how stubborn some people are about not paying the tolls (I mean, come on, if you're coming from Maryland and going to Tysons Corner Center and the toll is 35¢, it's crazy NOT to pay it to avoid all those red lights in Tysons), but in theory on the Beltway someone refusing to pay doesn't affect the traffic because he's using the same lanes he would have used before. The same is not true on I-95. If indeed a year's worth of usage data show a serious knock-on effect on other routes, then that should be a cautionary note as to I-66. Realistically I think there is a difference between people bailing off the Interstate for a long-distance arterial like Route 1 versus for residential streets like Washington Boulevard in Arlington, which has at least two schools along the bail-out segment.

On the other hand, I suppose to some degree Arlington brought it on themselves with their general obstructionist attitude towards any road improvements, but I don't think it's right for VDOT to jump without better data gleaned from I-95.

[cpzilliacus]

Dr. Gridlock reports on VDOT considering making I-66 inside the Beltway fully HO/T. Four things I find particularly interesting:

(1) VDOT had planned to restore HOV-3 (the pre-1995 rule) by 2020.

(2) HO/T would be in effect in both directions during peak hours, not just in the peak direction as is the case with the current HOV rules.

(3) HO/T would not apply outside peak hours.

(4) VDOT would operate the HO/T system itself, rather than contracting it out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/01/21/i-66-could-go-all-hot-inside-the-beltway/

As others have said, I-66 is different from 95 and 495.  95 and 495 still have the free lanes, for I-66 the only lanes available would become HOT.  The free options are surface streets or semi-expressways like US 50. For that regard, they would only apply HOT for a very limited context - rush hours.  The private sector would probably not want to get involved because of the limited hours of collection, so VDOT will be running the program.

I have said it elsewhere (sorry if I repeat myself), but I wish Virginia had an agency analogous to the Maryland Transportation Authority to run toll roads and toll crossings across the state.

As regards "rush hours," on I-66 that means mornings eastbound from 5 AM to 11 AM, and probably afternoons westbound 1 PM to 8 PM.  The off-peak-flow directions (westbound in AM and eastbound in PM) have somewhat different hours, but the congestion is potentially every bit as bad.

And as far as reverse commuting goes, I-66 is basically the D.C. version of the Santa Monica Freeway in the LA area.  Historically, traffic was worse going to Downtown LA in the morning, but now it's the opposite as there has been so much job growth in Santa Monica and West LA.  The dominant commuting direction is now away from Downtown.  And that's the case with Tysons, more traffic heading to Tysons, since there is no HOV restriction and [until Silver line came] it was very hard to use transit to Tysons, so more people would drive in that direction.

I presume at least some of that traffic headed to West L.A., Century City and around LAX probably comes from places well to the east of downtown L.A. along the I-10 and Ca. 60 Corridors.

Tysons does indeed attract a lot of traffic from places to its east.

IMO, I'd be glad to see the Dulles exemption go away.  Airport travelers (just like hybrid drivers) do not deserve a special exemption from traffic and tolls.  Let all drivers in the corridor pay toll within the Beltway, whether heading to Fairfax, Tysons, or Dulles.  Turn the Dulles Access Road into a HOV lane and single occupant drivers to Dulles should use the regular lanes of the Toll Road and all drivers on the Dulles Highway (DAR + DTR) between the Beltway and Sully Rd should pay tolls.

There may be legal reasons why the Dulles exemption needs to stay.  Hybrids are no different these days from other vehicles.  I would not repeat the mistake with all-electric vehicles either.

As for the Dulles Airport Access Road, it may not be possible to change the nature of the road (its design and construction was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration when they were building Dulles Airport (prior to the creation of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) in 1987, Dulles and National were run directly by the FAA), so it is probably part of the airport (in the FAA days, there were federal officers employed by the FAA that patrolled the Dulles Airport Access Road, predecessors to the MWAA Police Department).

[cpzilliacus]

May I just say how refreshing and nice it is to see intelligent commentary here on issues such as this one? I was just looking at the comments on Dr. Gridlock's blog and the level of stupidity displayed by some of those people just makes me shake my head. There are some people who don't like the HO/T lanes or the way they are operated who have some well-reasoned points, but a lot of the people appear to have the writing ability of third-graders and the intelligence to match.

Those folks should take it up with their members of the Virginia General Assembly.

"These lanes have ruined the Beltway." How, exactly, has that happened when you still have the same number of lanes available to all traffic (with the same lane restrictions for HAZMATs) you had before, plus a rebuilt I-66 interchange and an extra lane between there and Tysons? Now, back when the Beltway lanes opened there was a brief–less than a week–furor about the crashes at the lanes' southern end on the Inner Loop. The usual suspects wanted to condemn the entire project as an unsafe disaster. Guess what? People got used to the new configuration and you don't hear much about it anymore (although there was a crash there earlier this week in circumstances that were not mentioned on the news).

Ruined the Beltway?  LOL!

IMO, the entrance on the Inner Loop side should have been near the Robinson Terminal on a straight stretch, and would have been if it had been my call (but it was not).

I am glad our transportation planners and highway engineers don't make snap judgments based on two or three weeks' worth of data. I must say, though, that's one thing that gives me pause about VDOT's I-66 proposal. The I-66 proposal is more comparable to the I-95 HO/T lanes than it is to the Beltway lanes because it involves taking existing lanes and converting them to HO/T. Because it involves converting the lanes running in the non-peak direction at rush hour, which are currently unrestricted except for the truck ban, I see it as imposing new restrictions on lanes currently open to all traffic. I certainly understand why that angers people, and I think VDOT should take the time to allow for the generation of, and examination of, meaningful data from I-95 to see how the 24/7 HO/T operations affect traffic there. It's only been three and a half weeks since tolling began on I-95, so it's way too soon to draw any conclusions. It took a while for traffic in the Beltway lanes to ramp up, but there's definitely way more traffic in them now than there was when they opened.

I agree with you about the I-66 proposal being more like I-95, or even Md. 200,  though you are correct about the truck ban (IMO, that was a mistake that was part of the Coleman Decision).

As for the data describing how well the 95 Express Lanes, let's just say that's a sore subject with me right now.

I think VDOT needs to wait a year or so and examine I-95 to see just how much effect there is on the general-purpose lanes and parallel roads like Route 1 due to people who formerly used the reversible lanes outside HOV hours and are now unwilling to pay a toll. It continues to surprise me on the Beltway just how stubborn some people are about not paying the tolls (I mean, come on, if you're coming from Maryland and going to Tysons Corner Center and the toll is 35¢, it's crazy NOT to pay it to avoid all those red lights in Tysons), but in theory on the Beltway someone refusing to pay doesn't affect the traffic because he's using the same lanes he would have used before. The same is not true on I-95. If indeed a year's worth of usage data show a serious knock-on effect on other routes, then that should be a cautionary note as to I-66. Realistically I think there is a difference between people bailing off the Interstate for a long-distance arterial like Route 1 versus for residential streets like Washington Boulevard in Arlington, which has at least two schools along the bail-out segment.

Data collection is easy and cheap on the managed lanes and on most tolled roads (because of auditing requirements) - if the private operator wants to share said data.  Not so much on nearby "free" roads, where traffic counts (especially of long duration) are expensive and rather difficult to do.  In most cases, speed data are available for those roads, but those are not the same as count data.

On the other hand, I suppose to some degree Arlington brought it on themselves with their general obstructionist attitude towards any road improvements, but I don't think it's right for VDOT to jump without better data gleaned from I-95.

I agree, if data are available. 

[mrsman]

And as far as reverse commuting goes, I-66 is basically the D.C. version of the Santa Monica Freeway in the LA area.  Historically, traffic was worse going to Downtown LA in the morning, but now it's the opposite as there has been so much job growth in Santa Monica and West LA.  The dominant commuting direction is now away from Downtown.  And that's the case with Tysons, more traffic heading to Tysons, since there is no HOV restriction and [until Silver line came] it was very hard to use transit to Tysons, so more people would drive in that direction.

I presume at least some of that traffic headed to West L.A., Century City and around LAX probably comes from places well to the east of downtown L.A. along the I-10 and Ca. 60 Corridors.

Tysons does indeed attract a lot of traffic from places to its east.

Yes it's true the traffic is just a continuation of the traffic from the SB and Pomona Freeways, but the unique aspect is that 20 years ago, the freeway opened up as you left Downtown LA.  That is not true anymore.  But even more interesting is for traffic heading in the traditional commute direction, the driving is easier than it was 20 years ago.  Yes, it's still rush hour, but

Granted, I don't live there anymore, but a quick check of google maps traffic shows green to DOwntown adn red/yellow away at 6:20 on a Friday morning. THis would've been crazy 20 years ago.  And keep in mind, unlike I-66, there are no restrictions on traffic, it just happens that because of housing prices and jobs, fewer people with Downtown jobs live on the Westside.

IMO, I'd be glad to see the Dulles exemption go away.  Airport travelers (just like hybrid drivers) do not deserve a special exemption from traffic and tolls.  Let all drivers in the corridor pay toll within the Beltway, whether heading to Fairfax, Tysons, or Dulles.  Turn the Dulles Access Road into a HOV lane and single occupant drivers to Dulles should use the regular lanes of the Toll Road and all drivers on the Dulles Highway (DAR + DTR) between the Beltway and Sully Rd should pay tolls.

There may be legal reasons why the Dulles exemption needs to stay.  Hybrids are no different these days from other vehicles.  I would not repeat the mistake with all-electric vehicles either.

As for the Dulles Airport Access Road, it may not be possible to change the nature of the road (its design and construction was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration when they were building Dulles Airport (prior to the creation of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) in 1987, Dulles and National were run directly by the FAA), so it is probably part of the airport (in the FAA days, there were federal officers employed by the FAA that patrolled the Dulles Airport Access Road, predecessors to the MWAA Police Department).
[/quote]

As far as the legal reasons, couldn't either Congress or the state legislature pass some law around these old rules to allow for an exception here. For instance, couldn't they authorize granting control over the road from MWAA to VDOT.  They may be able to make a legislative fix around the Coleman decision as well.

[jeffandnicole]

Returned from my Florida trip yesterday.  Went thru the I-95, HO/T corridor about 11:00 - 11:30pm last night.  Again, some more observations...

SB traffic could still use the HO/T lanes.  A few vehicles were using them, but not many.

Around the 3rd entry going North, the gates were down, but the gate lights were not on.  At least the gates are reflective, and the VMS signs still said lanes were closed.  We did see a few more entry ways where the gate lights were only partially on.  The entrance closest to the beltway the gate lights were flashing.

A little surprised the gates don't start at the beginning of the transfer (aka decal) lane, but rather close to the gore point. 

They probably could've used some hybrid VMS/Drum signs, like on the NJ Turnpike dual-dual lanes.  The advanced signs for the HO/T entry points are static signs starting at the 2 Mile Ahead or 1 Mile ahead point, then around the 1/2, 1/4 mile point is a VMS stating the lanes are closed.  The static signs could have a rotating drum that say "Entry, 1 Mile Ahead" when the lanes are open, and "Closed" when the lanes are closed, instead of someone potentially trying to merge left to use the lanes, only to find out the lanes are closed close to the entry point...or someone finding out at the 1/4 mile point the lanes are indeed open.

It would also be nice when going north prior to reaching the beltway if there was a sign mentioning that the drawbridge is open.  I ran into that for the first time yesterday.  At the point I hit the stopped traffic, I was about a mile back from the drawbridge, and encountered about a 5 - 10 minute delay.  Not too bad, although after 15 hours of driving with another 2 ahead of me, I just wanted to get home at that point!!

[1995hoo]

....

It would also be nice when going north prior to reaching the beltway if there was a sign mentioning that the drawbridge is open.  I ran into that for the first time yesterday.  At the point I hit the stopped traffic, I was about a mile back from the drawbridge, and encountered about a 5 - 10 minute delay.  Not too bad, although after 15 hours of driving with another 2 ahead of me, I just wanted to get home at that point!!

Sometimes the standalone VMS units (the ones that report time/distance info or "Report Suspicious Activity") do list that info. I've seen it on the one in advance of Exit 166 (the Fairfax County Parkway interchange), but they're inconsistent about it. I agree, it'd be very useful info because you could then detour the other way around the Beltway or through the District.

The radio traffic reports usually mention it when the bridge opens, but of course it's not reasonable to think out-of-area motorists would know what radio stations broadcast regular and reliable local traffic reports!

[jeffandnicole]

I took the western side of the beltway on the way down to see the new beltway express lanes, so I figured going north I'll take the eastern side of the beltway to see that area.  It would've been worth it if I could see the drawbridge in the up position, but I was too far back to see that.  I did notice this though: The flashing yellow lights on the drawbridge signs (the signs that say the bridge is open, expect stopped traffic) have little white strobes in them.  And they stay on after traffic starts moving. 

The local lanes had a shorter delay than the thru lanes.  And one "Be Prepared To Stop" sign didn't have working flashing lights.

BTW, going back to the beltway express lanes...I saw one person doing maybe 50 mph in the left lane approaching the express lanes.  I think she's missing the point regarding the "express" part of the express lanes! 

[1995hoo]

I took the western side of the beltway on the way down to see the new beltway express lanes, so I figured going north I'll take the eastern side of the beltway to see that area.  It would've been worth it if I could see the drawbridge in the up position, but I was too far back to see that.  I did notice this though: The flashing yellow lights on the drawbridge signs (the signs that say the bridge is open, expect stopped traffic) have little white strobes in them.  And they stay on after traffic starts moving. 

The local lanes had a shorter delay than the thru lanes.  And one "Be Prepared To Stop" sign didn't have working flashing lights.

BTW, going back to the beltway express lanes...I saw one person doing maybe 50 mph in the left lane approaching the express lanes.  I think she's missing the point regarding the "express" part of the express lanes! 

You were coming south on the Outer Loop, correct? Was she going slowly in the work zone between the GW Parkway and the express lanes' northern terminus? I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Every time there's a lane shift in a work zone around here, the removal of the old striping results in annoying ruts and such that can cause your car to pull one way or the other. I'm never surprised when people slow down when that starts happening. On the other hand, the other side of that work zone, i.e. on the Inner Loop, is where Jayson Werth was clocked at 105 mph last year!

Incidentally, down here at the lanes' southern end, it's not unusual on the Inner Loop to see people zooming down the approach to the express lanes and then suddenly jamming on the brakes to cut right into slow traffic–basically, they're determined to use every square millimetre of road as a passing lane and they don't care if they obstruct traffic from entering the express lanes. (Same sort of thing I used to see near the Pentagon in the morning rush hour where people already on the highway would change lanes to the right into an onramp's acceleration lane, race down the end, then try to cut back into traffic. No wonder so many people don't want to let anyone merge.)

I have not had the misfortune of encountering the current Wilson Bridge in the "up" position, thankfully, so I have not seen any of those lights in operation. It's interesting to note that the pedestrian walkway on the bridge's northern side has signals depicting "the Man and the Hand" to warn pedestrians and cyclists to stop when the drawspan is going to open.

[oscar]

There may be legal reasons why the Dulles exemption needs to stay.  Hybrids are no different these days from other vehicles.  I would not repeat the mistake with all-electric vehicles either.

As for the Dulles Airport Access Road, it may not be possible to change the nature of the road (its design and construction was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration when they were building Dulles Airport (prior to the creation of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) in 1987, Dulles and National were run directly by the FAA), so it is probably part of the airport (in the FAA days, there were federal officers employed by the FAA that patrolled the Dulles Airport Access Road, predecessors to the MWAA Police Department).

As far as the legal reasons, couldn't either Congress or the state legislature pass some law around these old rules to allow for an exception here. For instance, couldn't they authorize granting control over the road from MWAA to VDOT.  They may be able to make a legislative fix around the Coleman decision as well.

Keeping the access road, and the I-66/VA 267 link from downtown, as free as possible for airport users helps encourage them to use Dulles rather than Reagan National.  And the normally PITA Arlington County government has an interest in promoting use of Dulles, to minimize flight noise for county residents living near National and some of its flight paths.   

It would be funny to have VDOT control the access road, but MWAA retain control of the adjacent toll road (which it wrestled away from VDOT to help pay for extension of Metro's Silver Line to Dulles). 

[jeffandnicole]

I took the western side of the beltway on the way down to see the new beltway express lanes, so I figured going north I'll take the eastern side of the beltway to see that area.  It would've been worth it if I could see the drawbridge in the up position, but I was too far back to see that.  I did notice this though: The flashing yellow lights on the drawbridge signs (the signs that say the bridge is open, expect stopped traffic) have little white strobes in them.  And they stay on after traffic starts moving. 

The local lanes had a shorter delay than the thru lanes.  And one "Be Prepared To Stop" sign didn't have working flashing lights.

BTW, going back to the beltway express lanes...I saw one person doing maybe 50 mph in the left lane approaching the express lanes.  I think she's missing the point regarding the "express" part of the express lanes! 

You were coming south on the Outer Loop, correct? Was she going slowly in the work zone between the GW Parkway and the express lanes' northern terminus? I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Every time there's a lane shift in a work zone around here, the removal of the old striping results in annoying ruts and such that can cause your car to pull one way or the other. I'm never surprised when people slow down when that starts happening. On the other hand, the other side of that work zone, i.e. on the Inner Loop, is where Jayson Werth was clocked at 105 mph last year!

Incidentally, down here at the lanes' southern end, it's not unusual on the Inner Loop to see people zooming down the approach to the express lanes and then suddenly jamming on the brakes to cut right into slow traffic–basically, they're determined to use every square millimetre of road as a passing lane and they don't care if they obstruct traffic from entering the express lanes. (Same sort of thing I used to see near the Pentagon in the morning rush hour where people already on the highway would change lanes to the right into an onramp's acceleration lane, race down the end, then try to cut back into traffic. No wonder so many people don't want to let anyone merge.)

I have not had the misfortune of encountering the current Wilson Bridge in the "up" position, thankfully, so I have not seen any of those lights in operation. It's interesting to note that the pedestrian walkway on the bridge's northern side has signals depicting "the Man and the Hand" to warn pedestrians and cyclists to stop when the drawspan is going to open.

Yep, the outer loop.

I didn't notice the lane markings being an issue, but maybe it was to this particular driver.  There were 1 or 2 other cars flying past this one.  I stayed in the general use lanes.

On the inner loop, the last second cutting in you refer to I see on a daily basis on my commute, especially near I-295's Interchange 26 (where 76 & 295 split), along with where 95 & 295 split off in Delaware. 

[froggie]

It's possible that they didn't include drawbridge warning signs on 95 North before the Beltway because only about 20% of traffic on 95 approaching the Beltway actually continues onto the Outer Loop (95 North/495 East), and some of that traffic is exiting in Alexandria (as I did when I lived in Huntington).  Another possibility is that the bridge raises so rarely these days that it's not worth the cost to put warning devices so far out.  Please note that these two theories are just speculation, though speculation based on facts and traffic flow.

but MWAA retain control of the adjacent toll road (which it wrestled away from VDOT to help pay for extension of Metro's Silver Line to Dulles).

It wasn't wrestled away from VDOT so much as it was simply given to MWAA by the General Assembly...

Regarding HO/T lanes, I've created a new thread for discussion on the planned I-66 lanes.

[1995hoo]

....

but MWAA retain control of the adjacent toll road (which it wrestled away from VDOT to help pay for extension of Metro's Silver Line to Dulles).

It wasn't wrestled away from VDOT so much as it was simply given to MWAA by the General Assembly...

....

I didn't pay a lot of attention at the time and so don't know all the details, but I know a number of very prominent attorneys who maintain the General Assembly never voted on it and that the handover was effectuated via executive action. They contend that violates the Virginia Constitution because disposal of property belonging to the Commonwealth apparently requires a vote of the General Assembly (I have not researched the issue and so I neither agree nor disagree; I don't know). I believe there's a cert petition pending before the US Supreme Court relating to some aspect of the handover.

Some of the attorneys involved in that matter are brilliant guys, but I think they're probably barking up the wrong tree on this one even if their interpretation of the law is correct. I certainly don't know how they expect to be able to roll back the Toll Road handover and get relief from the increased tolls, which is one of their goals.

But that's not really germane to HO/T lanes, and the HO/T lanes' creation most definitely did follow state law.

[jeffandnicole]

It's possible that they didn't include drawbridge warning signs on 95 North before the Beltway because only about 20% of traffic on 95 approaching the Beltway actually continues onto the Outer Loop (95 North/495 East), and some of that traffic is exiting in Alexandria (as I did when I lived in Huntington). 

Knowing that's just theory as you stated, but 20% of traffic still equals approximately 40,000 vehicles per day.  Even at 11:30pm at night, the delay across 5 lanes of traffic was at least 1 mile. 

[cpzilliacus]

Fredericksburg.com: Drivers take measure of new express lanes on Interstate 95

As expected, carpools and vanpools have flocked to the Interstate 95 express lanes, which opened on Dec. 14.

"We saw a high percentage of HOV users right off the bat,"  said Mike McGurk, spokesman for Transurban, the company that operates the electronically tolled lanes, which stretch 29 miles between Garrisonville and Edsall Road on Interstate 395.

Joe Stainsby, manager of the Vanpool Alliance Program, said they have seen a steady rise in interest in vanpools because of the express lanes.

The alliance promotes vanpools as an option for commuters in Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia.

Stainsby said there hasn't been a big increase in new vanpool riders, but he thinks once the toll "charges start hitting single-occupant vehicles who choose to pay to ride in the express lanes, that will change."

The express lanes have variable tolls, ranging from 20 cents to 80 cents per mile.

Vehicles carrying at least three people can use the lanes for free. Buses and motorcycles also can use the lanes for free.

McGurk said it's too early for statistics on overall usage of the lanes, but added that Transurban should have those details in February.

The high HOV use could come back to haunt Virginia taxpayers.

The public—private project contract the state signed includes stipulations that could force Virginians to pay Transurban if non-toll-paying HOV traffic reaches certain thresholds.