Driving capitalism

Could Beltway HOT lanes deal help us?

Date published: 4/30/2005

IT'S THE AMERICAN way: Perceive a need, sell a product, reap a profit. The need in this case--breaking motorists free of the chains of congestion on the Capital Beltway--has become critical enough to draw the attention of entrepreneurs, namely, Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Transurban Group. These firms have signed an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation to add high-occupancy toll lanes to the Virginia portion of the Beltway from Springfield west to Georgetown Pike. Within five years motorists should be able to pay to slipstream around the gridlock (which currently plagues the Beltway nearly 24/7) using the HOT lanes. The arrangement has been consummated under the state's Public-Private Transportation Act.

Could HOT lanes be a solution to the dismal traffic scene around Fredericksburg? Maybe someday. Commuters who head north, though, could soon see some relief on the horizon. Private firms have floated two proposals to add pay-as-you-go zip strips to Interstate 95. One, by Fluor, would convert two high-occupancy vehicle lanes between Alexandria and Dumfries to three HOT lanes. Another, by Clark Construction, would convert HOV lanes to HOT lanes between the Springfield Interchange and U.S. 17 in Stafford.

The Beltway project will be the bellwether for these and other proposals around the commonwealth. If the HOT lanes can be built for the $900 million the companies have agreed to without compromising safety concerns (like shoulder width), if they can then make a profit from the tolls, and if congestion is relieved, the PPTA will have done its work: providing hope for the hapless motorist, stuck in perpetual gridlock.

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Date published: 4/30/2005