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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Va likely to work with private firm to add express lanes on I-66
Posted by:
Fox News
()
Date: December 09, 2015 01:00AM
http://wtop.com/sprawl-crawl/2015/12/va-likely-work-with-private-firm-to-add-express-lanes-on-i-66/
After a lengthy and at times heated process, the two new toll lanes in each direction of Interstate 66 between Gainesville and the Capital Beltway will most likely be built as a full private concession, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation says.
At a meeting of the Commonwealth Transportation Board Tuesday, Charles Kilpatrick said that while a fully publicly financed project will remain an option if negotiations with three interested teams fall apart, a public-private partnership provides better value for Virginia.
There are still three teams involved in the competitive bidding process and Kilpatrick did not share many details about the different plans.
He says each of the three proposals would require less than $600 million in public funding, and none would involve any promises like those made during construction of the 95 Express Lanes that parallel roads would not see improvements.
The only major limit Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne says is that the Orange Line could not be extended for ten years, which he points out is highly unlikely to happen anyway. There would also be no cap on high occupancy vehicle usage like the one on the 95 Express Lanes, which forces the state to pay if carpooling efforts are too effective.
Inside the Beltway
The meeting Tuesday also included more details on a separate proposal to toll solo drivers and to expand the time period that HOV restrictions apply to the interstate east of the Beltway.
An agreement on how to spend the toll revenue generated from inside Interstate 495 is set to be approved by the board Wednesday.
Tuesday evening at George Mason High School in Falls Church, the Commonwealth Transportation Board reconvened to take public comments ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
There were strong opinions both for and against.
“Transform I-66 Inside the Beltway is the only workable solution that actually will get people moving again,” said Joe Vidulich, Vice President of Government Relations with the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
James Mosely, a Herndon resident, spoke out against the plan.
“Tolling turns 66 into a road for the elite, and I just want to say that most people, we are not Donald Trump.”
Deputy Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue says the combination of the two projects will do more to alleviate congestion across the region than if either were to be done alone.
Ratings of various projects across the region showed that the outside the Beltway express lanes project rates high for congestion relief. The proposed changes inside the Beltway rank high on a cost-benefit analysis in large part because tolls are expected to finance the changes east of I-495.
The gross revenue from tolls collected inside the Beltway is expected to be about 70 percent of its peak in 2018 — the first full year of tolling. Donohue projects that revenue will be around $18 million, with $8 million to $10 million available for projects that can improve the toll-payers’ commutes.
Unlike the express lanes planned for the western stretch of I-66 toward Gainesville, the state will pay for the changes to implement tolls between the Beltway the D.C. line and will keep the toll revenue.
The inside the Beltway agreement includes triggers that would lead to the widening of I-66 eastbound between the Dulles Connector Road and Ballston as early as the 2020s.
Layne emphasized that the board could still decide to widen the road sooner if members are willing to take money away from other road projects.
After a lengthy and at times heated process, the two new toll lanes in each direction of Interstate 66 between Gainesville and the Capital Beltway will most likely be built as a full private concession, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation says.
At a meeting of the Commonwealth Transportation Board Tuesday, Charles Kilpatrick said that while a fully publicly financed project will remain an option if negotiations with three interested teams fall apart, a public-private partnership provides better value for Virginia.
There are still three teams involved in the competitive bidding process and Kilpatrick did not share many details about the different plans.
He says each of the three proposals would require less than $600 million in public funding, and none would involve any promises like those made during construction of the 95 Express Lanes that parallel roads would not see improvements.
The only major limit Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne says is that the Orange Line could not be extended for ten years, which he points out is highly unlikely to happen anyway. There would also be no cap on high occupancy vehicle usage like the one on the 95 Express Lanes, which forces the state to pay if carpooling efforts are too effective.
Inside the Beltway
The meeting Tuesday also included more details on a separate proposal to toll solo drivers and to expand the time period that HOV restrictions apply to the interstate east of the Beltway.
An agreement on how to spend the toll revenue generated from inside Interstate 495 is set to be approved by the board Wednesday.
Tuesday evening at George Mason High School in Falls Church, the Commonwealth Transportation Board reconvened to take public comments ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
There were strong opinions both for and against.
“Transform I-66 Inside the Beltway is the only workable solution that actually will get people moving again,” said Joe Vidulich, Vice President of Government Relations with the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
James Mosely, a Herndon resident, spoke out against the plan.
“Tolling turns 66 into a road for the elite, and I just want to say that most people, we are not Donald Trump.”
Deputy Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue says the combination of the two projects will do more to alleviate congestion across the region than if either were to be done alone.
Ratings of various projects across the region showed that the outside the Beltway express lanes project rates high for congestion relief. The proposed changes inside the Beltway rank high on a cost-benefit analysis in large part because tolls are expected to finance the changes east of I-495.
The gross revenue from tolls collected inside the Beltway is expected to be about 70 percent of its peak in 2018 — the first full year of tolling. Donohue projects that revenue will be around $18 million, with $8 million to $10 million available for projects that can improve the toll-payers’ commutes.
Unlike the express lanes planned for the western stretch of I-66 toward Gainesville, the state will pay for the changes to implement tolls between the Beltway the D.C. line and will keep the toll revenue.
The inside the Beltway agreement includes triggers that would lead to the widening of I-66 eastbound between the Dulles Connector Road and Ballston as early as the 2020s.
Layne emphasized that the board could still decide to widen the road sooner if members are willing to take money away from other road projects.
Re: Va likely to work with private firm to add express lanes on I-66
Posted by:
Ying Ko
()
Date: December 09, 2015 05:53AM
I don't get why the toll road on 66 is a big deal. Because of the assholes here who brag about cheating on the HOV, the powers that be figure some of the cheaters will pay to use the road if given the opportunity. I'll stick to my back streets, thank you very much, but I guess some people love to throw their money away.
Re: Va likely to work with private firm to add express lanes on I-66
Posted by:
Dndjixj
()
Date: December 09, 2015 06:35AM
95 is a perfect example why they should not do this. The road congestion was never relieved. The state just needs to pony up and widen it.
Re: Va likely to work with private firm to add express lanes on I-66
Posted by:
Spot the loonies
()
Date: December 09, 2015 10:05AM
People just need to stop trying to live in Dumfries and work in DC. It will otherwise come to the point where you'll need to apply for a permit to drive on 95 during rush hour.
As for 66 inside the Beltway, widening in Fairfax County is quite possible, but in Arlington County, all that will happen is an eastbound connection of the Sycamore entrance-ramp and the Glebe Road exit-ramp. The similar connection on the outbound side has been quite successful and did not require encroachment into adjoining neighborhoods. Something similar will likely be worked out on the eastbound side as well over the next few years, but don't look for any more than that.
As for 66 inside the Beltway, widening in Fairfax County is quite possible, but in Arlington County, all that will happen is an eastbound connection of the Sycamore entrance-ramp and the Glebe Road exit-ramp. The similar connection on the outbound side has been quite successful and did not require encroachment into adjoining neighborhoods. Something similar will likely be worked out on the eastbound side as well over the next few years, but don't look for any more than that.