Posted on 02/09/2018 10:44:38 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced a deal Wednesday that will add 10 more miles of express lanes to the Interstate 95 corridor, expanding the system of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to Fredericksburg by 2022.
As part of the agreement, the private company building the lanes will give the state $277 million upfront to cover costs of a bridge over the Rappahannock River and other improvements along the corridor, Virginia transportation officials said.
The deal essentially moves forward a 10-mile extension from Garrisonville Road (Route 610) in Stafford County to Route 17 in the Fredericksburg area. It also builds on McAuliffe’s transportation legacy, greatly focused on expanding tolling facilities to relieve traffic in some of the state’s most congested corridors and generating funds for other transportation projects.
McAuliffe’s four-year term ends Saturday.
“This deal will not require any upfront taxpayer investment for construction, and will provide $277 million by the time the express lanes are open that will be invested in the corridor to advance critical transportation projects,” McAuliffe told the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Wednesday morning.
About 45 miles of express lanes have opened on interstates 495 and 95 within the past five years, and the state last month opened another 10 miles of HOT lanes on Interstate 66, inside the Capital Beltway.
On I-66 outside the Beltway, construction is set to begin this year on a $2.3 billion expansion that will add 22.5 miles of toll lanes by 2022, from the Beltway to University Boulevard in Gainesville in Prince William County. And construction is also underway this year along an eight-mile stretch of Interstate 395, where today’s high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are being converted into toll lanes.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This refers to express lanes, an option. Not like, say, the Garden State Parkway in NJ. The main lanes of I-95 in VA are still ‘free’ to the extent there are no tolls. Not sure how long that will last.
The pricing on the express lanes is dynamic. My sons once took the road near rush hour and the 10 mile trip was $15.00. Probably worth it to them. The few times I’ve used it, earlier in the day, the toll was @ $4.00. Also, the lanes all go in one direction at a time, and are open at times that coincide with rush hour into and out of DC. You can’t drive the road Northbound (towards DC) in the evening, nor Southbound (away from DC) in the morning.
Fortunately, the are running a southbound CD lane, maybe two, from Route 17 southbound to Route 3, presumably encompassing both interchanges. It will have its own separate bridge over the Rappahannock River, but Heaven only knows what they’re going to do with the rest stop just south of the river. The work will start this summer with funds that don’t come from the proceeds of the 10-mile HOT lane extension payment.
Some of the proceeds from the HOT Lane payment will eventually be used to build a CD lane from Route 3 north to the existing CD lane at the Route 17 interchange.
River crossings can make great bottlenecks, e.g. The American Legion Bridge on I-495.
To run the entire 30-mile length of the existing HOT lanes during a time of light traffic is nearly $6.00. During rush hour, it’s undoubtedly an arm and a leg.
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