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New rush-hour tolls on I-66 Inside the Beltway

Miss Marty

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New rush-hour Tolls on I-66 Inside the Beltway
in Northern Virginia - Begin - December 4, 2017


About the I-66 Express Lanes

Those who drive alone will now be able to use the I-66 Express Lanes during rush hours by paying a toll. Those traveling with two or more people will continue to ride free. All solo drivers using the lanes during rush hours will need an E-ZPass, and carpoolers will need an E-ZPass Flex, switched to the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) mode, to use the lanes free.

The dynamically-priced toll lanes will operate during rush hours between Interstate 495 and Route 29 in Rosslyn. Tolls will fluctuate depending on the amount of traffic on the express lanes. Roadway sensors will monitor traffic volumes. Toll prices will adjust to manage demand for the lanes and keep traffic free-flowing. When there’s more traffic, prices will be higher. When there’s less traffic, prices will be lower.

The rush hours are 5:30 a.m.to 9:30 a.m., eastbound; and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., westbound.

Traveling to/from Timeshares or work
Check out the following website @

http://66expresslanes.org/
 

chapjim

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The other HOV-Toll lanes in the area are separate, reversible, parallel roads with slip lanes for entering/exiting the HOV-Toll lanes from/to the main highway. This includes I-395 inside the Capital Beltway, I-95 south of the Beltway, and the south-west quadrant of the Beltway (between I-95 and near Tyson's Corner). The I-66 HOV-Toll lane is just the far left lane. Getting on and off the HOV-Toll lane is a mere lane change.

I don't run I-66 inside the beltway very often and never during rush hour so I can only speculate how this will work.
 

PigsDad

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I don't run I-66 inside the beltway very often and never during rush hour so I can only speculate how this will work.
We've had these lanes in Colorado for a few years now, and they seem to work just fine.

Kurt
 

chapjim

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We've had these lanes in Colorado for a few years now, and they seem to work just fine.

Kurt

We've had HOV-Toll lanes here as well but not where the HOV-Toll lane was part of the main highway.

Also, when was the last time you drove in the Metro Washington DC area?? I'm not sure success in CO translates to the DC area.
 

PigsDad

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We've had HOV-Toll lanes here as well but not where the HOV-Toll lane was part of the main highway.

Also, when was the last time you drove in the Metro Washington DC area?? I'm not sure success in CO translates to the DC area.
It seemed like you were concerned how having the HOV-Toll lanes part of the main highway would work. I just reported that it works fine here -- drivers are able to understand it and it has not caused any problems. Do you think drivers in DC can't handle it? Just curious as to why you think driving in DC is that much different to driving in Denver. Yes, more traffic in DC, but do you think the basic driving rules are different? Do you think the driving IQ level is different? :ponder:

Kurt
 

vacationhopeful

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DC might have a 2-3 lane highway in each direction carrying traffic close to YOUR traffic load of a 5+ lane highway.

You MIGHT have a mountain but DC has rivers & wetlands plus 10+ times the metro population all living/working/visiting than your area of your state. Getting around NYC proper might be harder driving than DC.... can't think of any worst travel area in the country.

My BIL works at the Pentagon and lives in MD. He leaves for work BEFORE 6AM and has a rare assigned parking space where he does not have to take a shuttle to the building. He gets home after 6PM, closer to 7PM or later.

The only place I think where traffic might be heavier .... outside and around NYC. I have driven to NYC multiple times, but it is the $70+ per day MINIMUM parking (no in & out) plus $20+ dollars tolls to get into the city. Also, be prepared for heavy tractor trailer & truck traffic ... the NJ Turnpike to NYC is 6 lanes each way over 2 separate road ways running next to each other in both directions to the tunnels into NYC. I usually take the TNJ (Transit of NJ) trains into Madison Square Garden (is the ONLY TNJ station in NYC). The original cow path roadways in NJ/NY plus add in a few rivers and the ocean make travel interesting for the millions of residents and guests.

chapjim ... I totally agree with you!
 

PigsDad

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Ok Linda, please explain how any of what you wrote would affect how the HOV-toll lanes would not work or would be difficult to use, as chapjim implied.

  • Do rivers and wetlands affect how you use an HOV lane?
  • What does the population size have to do with how you use an HOV lane?
  • What the heck does having an assigned parking spot have to do with how you use an HOV lane???? (this one really puzzled me :shrug:)
  • What does how early one arrives at work or how late one gets home affect how you use an HOV lane?
  • What does the cost of the toll have to do with how you use an HOV lane? (BTW, one of our HOV-toll lanes is a 13 mile-stretch that can charge up to $40 for a single passage (demand-based pricing), but I still don't understand why you think the price of the toll would have any bearing on working here but not in DC...)

I can assure you we have our share of completely backed-up, stop and go interstates and highways, which is what these toll lanes are targeted for.

All I can say is that by the sample size of 2 in this thread, the driver IQ must be a LOT lower on the East Coast vs. the rest of the country. :p Can drivers there not figure out how to use an HOV-toll lane? Is it just too difficult for them?

This is almost too funny!

Kurt
 
Last edited:

chapjim

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Ok Linda, please explain how any of what you wrote would affect how the HOV-toll lanes would not work or would be difficult to use, as chapjim implied.

  • Do rivers and wetlands affect how you use an HOV lane?
  • What does the population size have to do with how you use an HOV lane?
  • What the heck does having an assigned parking spot have to do with how you use an HOV lane???? (this one really puzzled me :shrug:)
  • What does how early one arrives at work or how late one gets home affect how you use an HOV lane?
  • What does the cost of the toll have to do with how you use an HOV lane? (BTW, one of our HOV-toll lanes is a 13 mile-stretch that can charge up to $40 for a single passage (demand-based pricing), but I still don't understand why you think the price of the toll would have any bearing on working here but not in DC...)

I can assure you we have our share of completely backed-up, stop and go interstates and highways, which is what these toll lanes are targeted for.

All I can say is that by the sample size of 2 in this thread, the driver IQ must be a LOT lower on the East Coast vs. the rest of the country. :p Can drivers there not figure out how to use an HOV-toll lane? Is it just too difficult for them?

This is almost too funny!

Kurt


I didn't know we were into ad hominem attacks here on the board.

But yep, we're just a bunch of goobers from the shallow end of the gene pool here. We don't have all that intellectual ferment you got going on out there in the west.

I hope local drivers figure it out. I'm not too much into carnage (unless it's the other guys on the battlefield). I suspect Day 1 (tomorrow) will not be too much worse than Day 1 in Colorado. And it will be a lot better than Day 1 of being able to make a right turn on a red light in NYC. We could hear that here in Northern VA.

Do you know CO Skier? He's on the board here and seems to pretty much know everything about everything. Y'all should hook up sometime.
 

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I didn't know we were into ad hominem attacks here on the board.
Let me get this straight. You post that you have doubts the HOV-toll lane will work, I simply and politely report that it has worked fine here for a few years. Then two people basically say I have no idea what I'm talking about because I live in one of the fly-over states, and certainly can't understand how driving in the privileged East Coast is so much different than out here in the sticks. "when was the last time you drove in the Metro Washington DC area??" Condescending much? Good grief. I'm done here.
 

chapjim

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Let me get this straight. You post that you have doubts the HOV-toll lane will work, I simply and politely report that it has worked fine here for a few years. Then two people basically say I have no idea what I'm talking about because I live in one of the fly-over states, and certainly can't understand how driving in the privileged East Coast is so much different than out here in the sticks. "when was the last time you drove in the Metro Washington DC area??" Condescending much? Good grief. I'm done here.

Me, too!
 

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It seemed like you were concerned how having the HOV-Toll lanes part of the main highway would work. I just reported that it works fine here -- drivers are able to understand it.

Here in Dallas it is tricky. The toll on some HOV lanes go up and down based on the amount of traffic on the main lanes. Sometimes the difference can be dramatic. On the plus side the toll is posted before you enter the HOV lane so you have a choice whether to use it or not.

George
 

chapjim

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Here in Dallas it is tricky. The toll on some HOV lanes go up and down based on the amount of traffic on the main lanes. Sometimes the difference can be dramatic. On the plus side the toll is posted before you enter the HOV lane so you have a choice whether to use it or not.

George

The new stretch is nine miles of I-66 from the Capital Beltway to Rosslyn (just before the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge into the District). The maximum toll was at about 8:30 AM -- $34.50.
 

jwalk03

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The new stretch is nine miles of I-66 from the Capital Beltway to Rosslyn (just before the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge into the District). The maximum toll was at about 8:30 AM -- $34.50.

$34.50?!?!? That's outrageous!
 

chapjim

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$34.50?!?!? That's outrageous!

That's "demand-based pricing." The idea is to discourage people from overloading the toll lanes -- to keep them moving -- or encourage them to form carpools.

Prices are adjusted every six minutes, supposedly based on the volume of traffic on the toll lanes, not based on the traffic on parallel roads.
 

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[triennial - points]
At the Sycamore Street on-ramp this morning, posted toll amounts were $10.25 to Fairfax Drive & $18.50 to Washington DC.

HOV-2+ el freebo, but only if the car is equipped with EZ-Pass Plus.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

chapjim

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At the Sycamore Street on-ramp this morning, posted toll amounts were $10.25 to Fairfax Drive & $18.50 to Washington DC.

HOV-2+ el freebo, but only if the car is equipped with EZ-Pass Plus.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
WTOP said the fare hit $40 this morning. That's for someone starting at the Beltway going to Rosslyn. Going west this afternoon, it was something like $6.25.

The VA Transportation Secretary said, "No one has to pay a toll." Which, of course, is true. Just get another person in the car and an EZPass Flex transponder.
 

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HOV-2+ el freebo, but only if the car is equipped with EZ-Pass Plus.
Here in Colorado it is only free for 3+ in all HOV lanes (just changed earlier this year). We also have at least one stretch on I-70 where everyone who is in the toll lane (adjacent to the other lanes, no barrier) pays -- no free HOV option. They all have the demand-based pricing feature. Like you, we need the "plus" version of our transponder in order to use the combo HOV / toll lanes.

Kurt
 

pedro47

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How can VDOT charge someone $32.50 for a toll ride? How long is this toll highway and how long will these tolls last?
There is now a very espensive toll between Norfolk,Va and Portsmouth ,Va that cost $2.00 each way and the toll will increase every year and you need an EZ-Pass. Plus, the cost is even higher without the EZ-Pass.
 

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How can VDOT charge someone $32.50 for a toll ride? How long is this toll highway and how long will these tolls last?
There is now a very espensive toll between Norfolk,Va and Portsmouth ,Va that cost $2.00 each way and the toll will increase every year and you need an EZ-Pass. Plus, the cost is even higher without the EZ-Pass.

Its only 9 miles!!!! How long before homeless people start offering to ride with you for $10 instead of paying the $40 TOLL?!?!
 

jwalk03

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Here in Colorado it is only free for 3+ in all HOV lanes (just changed earlier this year). We also have at least one stretch on I-70 where everyone who is in the toll lane (adjacent to the other lanes, no barrier) pays -- no free HOV option. They all have the demand-based pricing feature. Like you, we need the "plus" version of our transponder in order to use the combo HOV / toll lanes.

Kurt

They are planning to switch to HOV-3 in 2022.
 

jwalk03

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I thought the $9.00 toll to get to Outer Banks on the Chesapeake Expressway was excessive! Luckily that one is really easy to bypass on a side street or 2. Only fell for that once till I figured it out!
 

pedro47

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Chesapeake Expressway Tolls off peak hours. The charge is only $3.00 one way: peaks hours $8.00 one way.
Sat & Sunday are peak hours all day for both days: $8.00 one way.

You need an EZ-Pass for these so called discount prices. You will paid a very huge fine without an EZ-Pass.
EZ-Pass money is for the deep pockets of the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina Department of Transportation. That is my humble observation of the toll situation.
 

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Chesapeake Expressway Tolls off peak hours. The charge is only $3.00 one way: peaks hours $8.00 one way.
Sat & Sunday are peak hours all day for both days: $8.00 one way.

You need an EZ-Pass for these so called discount prices. You will paid a very huge fine without an EZ-Pass.
EZ-Pass money is for the deep pockets of the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina Department of Transportation. That is my humble observation of the toll situation.

Virginia, North Carolina and more than a dozen other states.
 

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I’m a Va-DC driver. This stretch of i66 was only hov2 during rush hour prior to toll. This simply allows someone with the $ or who HAS to use 66 during rush to use it with 1 person. If you need to get to the airport or to an important appt, it’s worth $40.
I95 did the same thing on its hov lanes. Used to require 3 people. Now outside of the beltway one can drive solo and pay the toll during rush hour. I would pay it to get to airport but not everyday. Hov3 still free.
On 95, because of hov3, We actually have a very efficient ad hoc carpool system called slugging where riders and drivers meet up in parking lots to use hov3 free. Riders line up in an orderly fashion and drivers form a queue like a taxi line. Working great for over 30 years with no issues. I have been both a rider and driver. Gets me 10 miles up 95 in about 15 minutes.
 
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