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Traffic flows over the American Legion Bridge - |
By KELLY HANNON
Car-pool lanes should open on the Capital Beltway in 2013, giving Fredericksburg-area commuters who work near Tysons Corner a faster way to their jobs.
High Occupancy Toll lanes will be built over 14 miles from Springfield to a point just north of the Dulles Toll Road. Two HOT lanes will run in each direction.
The lanes would connect with HOT lanes planned for Interstate 95/395, which would be opened in sections beginning in 2010.
Lloyd Robinson of the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization said the lanes will expand opportunities for transit and ride-sharing.
"If you are a carpooler or vanpooler or bus rider or if you need to get somewhere in a hurry and will pay a toll, there will be increased convenience," said Robinson, FAMPO's director of transportation planning.
Vehicles with three or more occupants will ride for free at all times in the HOT lanes. Vehicles with one or two occupants can pay a toll to drive in the lanes.
The project's details were announced yesterday by Virginia Department of Transportation officials. VDOT has reached an "in principle" agreement with two private companies, Transurban DRIVe and Fluor Enterprises. Fluor-Transurban will design and build the $1.7 billion project, with $409 million coming from public money.
They are the same companies that have proposed opening toll lanes along I-95/395. The HOT lanes on I-95 would extend south to Massaponax by 2014.
At rush hour, the average trip on the beltway will cost $5 to $6 for vehicles paying tolls, the companies said. But the price will fluctuate, since Fluor-Transurban must charge enough to keep traffic flowing.
VDOT Commissioner David Ekern said the HOT-lane project will relieve congestion in "one of the most congested" highway corridors in Virginia. The lanes will also improve quality of life and economic growth in Northern Virginia, he said.
Construction of the beltway HOT lanes will begin next spring. Work is projected to continue for five years.
A lot of construction will take place at night, but "there will be some disruption" to traffic, said Herb Morgan, Fluor vice president of operations.
Since there is no space in the beltway's median to build new lanes, Fluor-Transurban will build new traffic lanes along the outside edge of the highway.
When they are finished, traffic will shift to the new outer lanes. Four inside lanes will be converted to HOT lanes.
Fluor-Transurban is paying to design, build and manage the lanes for 80 years. The state will own the lanes after that period.
Taking cars off the beltway could help the metro area's environment.
"I think there's definitely an air quality effect as well," Robinson said.
Not everyone was pleased by yesterday's announcement. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Coalition for Smarter Growth released a joint statement criticizing the project's financing.
"Were VDOT to instead maintain public control of the lanes, the funds raised from the tolls would be available in future decades to pay for other transportation improvements, but here the funds will go into the pockets of private investors," said Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth executive director, in a press release.
The projected cost of the beltway HOT lanes has doubled from two years ago, to $1.7 billion. Higher prices for steel, concrete and other materials led to the increase.
Fluor-Transurban will keep toll revenues as compensation for spending $1.3 billion to create the lanes and maintain them.
The project will also build three new access points in the Tysons Corner area.
Negotiations are expected to wrap up later this year, according to VDOT.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
