95 Express Lanes (Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria: condo, house, trains)

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Does anyone have any idea of what is exactly going to be done. For such a seemingly large project (1 billion dollars), it seems like it just sprung up overnight. I don't recall any planning or discussions about this and didn't even know about it until I read an AP article in the Richmond Times Dispatch. You'd think there would be plenty of information about it around Nova...


Are they going to be adding two lanes to each side of the highway down to stafford? Are they going to be extending the HOV lanes in the middle beyond dumfries? How many bridges and overpasses will need to be rebuilt? 2 years and 1 billion dollars seems like small potatoes considering the scope..

There were a few months of planning for this, but I agree it is FAR faster tracked than lets see ah yes Public Transit improvements in this area. Such as the silver line that took decades, the Columbia Streetcar which took a decade, bike lanes HA good luck with those.

The reality is, its VDOT, they make the rules therefore they can rewrite them when it helps them out. #1 Landowner in the state and #1 polluter of the Chesapeake Bay. A 4 billion dollar machine which has grown at a break neck speed of 6% per year for the past 30 years (even through the past 4 years of fiscal restraint). Sad thing is, this is going to be called "a VDOT project for Fairfax and NOVA" when really its a private company doing it and its saddling the cost onto NOVA residents all the while other improvements around the state are being done with our hard earned tax revenue. All the while we have to BEG for 150 million for a project that most of NOVA supported and wait another 15 years for the possibility of extending the popular and highly used and fiscally solvent Orange Line to Centreville.

19 cents on the dollar, I'll continue to scream this until more people are just as agitated about it. Prior to George "lets screw over Nova" Allen Fairfax used to be returned over 50 cents on the dollar of our tax revenue in capital improvements/education/police/fire funding. Just saying

[djplourd]

This project does seem to be moving pretty fast but details have been available for awhile (at least since February 2011 and probably a lot longer than that).

Virginia Megaprojects - I-95 HOV/HOT Lanes

[djplourd]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

Tolls are likely going to be on the range of 1.50-2.50 per mile

Somehow I doubt that the tolls would be 43.50-72.50 for someone using the entire 29 mile length of the project. According to the 95 Express Lanes FAQ, "Tolls on the region-wide HOT Lanes network will vary based on real-time traffic conditions to manage the number of toll-paying customers who choose to enter the HOT Lanes. Most customers are expected to pay to use HOT lanes only a couple of times a week when they need a faster trip, with a typical trip during rush hour costing between $5 and $6. HOV-3+, vanpools, motorcycles and buses travel free."

I'm sure they will certainly rise over time but nowhere near a 1.50-2.50 rate per mile.

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by djplourd

This project does seem to be moving pretty fast but details have been available for awhile (at least since February 2011 and probably a lot longer than that).

Virginia Megaprojects - I-95 HOV/HOT Lanes

ahh, so they're finally going to extend the reversible lanes and make use of that dummy bridge at the end of the current ones. I assumed by the time they decided to do this, that bridge would need to be replaced due to age.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by djplourd

Somehow I doubt that the tolls would be 43.50-72.50 for someone using the entire 29 mile length of the project. According to the 95 Express Lanes FAQ, "Tolls on the region-wide HOT Lanes network will vary based on real-time traffic conditions to manage the number of toll-paying customers who choose to enter the HOT Lanes. Most customers are expected to pay to use HOT lanes only a couple of times a week when they need a faster trip, with a typical trip during rush hour costing between $5 and $6. HOV-3+, vanpools, motorcycles and buses travel free."

I'm sure they will certainly rise over time but nowhere near a 1.50-2.50 rate per mile.

Also from that same excerpt from VDOT

"It is not possible for us to predict exactly what the tolls will be at any given time. We expect they will range from as low as 10 cents per mile during less busy times, to approximately a dollar per mile in some sections during rush hour. The average trip cost is estimated to be between $5 and $7. "

That doesnt add up in my opinion. Which sections will be 1 dollar per mile? From Fburg up to Springfield the congestion is pretty damn consistently overstuffed. When it crosses into Fairfax will we be charged extra at a dollar per mile.

Also consider that this is a freemarket system. The capacity of the lanes would be somewhere in the order of 10000 users during peak hour (once in morning once in afternoon). There are somewhere on the order of 150000 users of 95 in general each direction during rush. So to price the system for only 7% users what do you think people would pay? The price HAS to go up until it can sustain 55mph, therefore it has to be priced so as to keep people from over using it. I think their 5-7 estimate is "average" but at peak it could cost in double digits each direction just like the 495 HOT will.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Mike From NIU

It also stinks for those of us who will now be forced to buy transponders and pay a monthly service charge. My family and I rarely travel up 95, but when we do, we definitely use the HOV lanes when they are open. Now, we'll have to get a transponder, pay the $1/month fee for the "privilege", and then make sure we don't forget to have it set to the right setting in order to avoid a ticket. For those who already carpool every day, they will also have to get a new transponder and start paying this ridiculous monthly fee in order to use the highways that have already been paid for and are intended for their use.

I understand what you mean. I think the same thing. A couple of times a year my family uses the HOV lanes on 95. It wouldn't be worth it to us to pay a service charge for a transponder either just to have it for the few times it would be used. I thought the same thing when I parked at the metro deck and had to pay extra $ for a plastic parking fare card on top of the fee for parking when I don't even use it yearly.
So, all of the vacation travelers who might utilize the HOV lanes currently when traveling 95 will have to use the main lines in the future? I would assume most wouldn't have a transponder in their cars.

[spencgr]

Please remember, you can use the HOT lanes with 1 person in the car, you just need to have a transponder (just the regular one) so they can collect the toll.

The new transponder is only needed if you have three or more people and do NOT want to pay the toll. You can still use the old transponder with 3 people, you'll just be paying.

[oneasterisk]

So I have to pay for some stupid device just because I want to drive on a road my tax dollars built? Or wait, I didn't build that, someone else made that happen...

[kevbros]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

So I have to pay for some stupid device just because I want to drive on a road my tax dollars built? Or wait, I didn't build that, someone else made that happen...

Actually, these lanes were built with mostly private capital.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

So I have to pay for some stupid device just because I want to drive on a road my tax dollars built? Or wait, I didn't build that, someone else made that happen...

Also quoting a cutaway from Obama's speech makes no sense, seeing as this project is from VDOT (run by a former PWC republican and Petroleum Institute executive in Sean Connaughton) and our governor (Bob "literally helps businesses by providing tax money to stay in the state like the Redskins" McDonnell). Soooo its both ironic and incorrect.