Hank Silverberg, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – The forecast could be good for your commute now that AAA is predicting the Washington region will soon be off the Top 10 Worst Commute list.
The optimistic prediction comes from AAA’s spokesman Lon Anderson. He says the two big HOT lane projects in Northern Virginia along the Beltway and Interstate 95 could shorten overall commute times significantly once they are done.
“That could just be the silver bullet,” Anderson says. “These projects will mean that the Washington area will see an actual drop in its commuting time across the region just because of the impact of those two roads.”
The Beltway HOT lanes project on I-495 is slated to open in December.
The 14-mile stretch on I-95, where construction has just started, is scheduled for completion in 2015.
When finished, drivers in the toll lanes should be able to go all the way from Stafford County to Tyson’s Corner in Fairfax County traveling at the speed limit.
The HOT lanes, which have now been renamed Express Lanes, will include EZ Pass tolling with congestion pricing that will vary depending on how many cars travel in the lanes.
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