Right now I want to focus on the HOT lanes. The beltway is going to be widened so there will be 2 new lanes on each side. They will run almost all of the Virginia portion of the beltway. The 2 leftmost/innermost lanes will be for these HOT lanes. They will be pay for use. Or free for HOV-3. So free if you have 3 or more people in your car. Some interesting features for HOT lanes are that they will add exit and on ramps in the Tysons area. 3 new access areas for the Beltway.
The pricing for use, for non HOV-3 drivers, will be "dynamic." The goal of the administrators/controllers of the HOT lanes is to guarantee a speed of 45 miles per hour or more. In order to do this they will constantly monitor the usage and traffic on the HOT lanes and raise prices to price people out and keep the speed up.
Some concerns raised by those in attendance were:
- Enforcement of access to HOT lanes - making sure all those using were HOV-3 or paying customers
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- Congestion at the "terminus" of the HOT lanes - It is understood that VDOT and it's private partners have good plans for the 45 mile per hour guarantee and the dynamic pricing, but what about when traffic comes up to the bridge and the rest of the beltway is already backed up from the Maryland side.
The response to the congestion was that Maryland is undergoing studies as to how to react accordingly now that HOT lanes are moving forward.
Although no one has the answers, it is exciting to see that VDOT is working to find solutions for our currently overwhelmed roads. These HOT lanes are set to open in 2012.
For more information right from the source check out =
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