ALEXANDRIA – Road tests now are underway on equipment that will collect tolls and set congestion-based toll rates on the future 95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia.
The new hybrid High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane system will collect money electronically using E-ZPass. E-ZPass flex transponders will allow drivers in cars with three or more passengers to use the roadway for free.
Testing the equipment attached to overhead gantries is an important next step in getting the road ready, according to the road’s future operator, Transurban.
“Right now we’re on schedule to deliver and open these lanes to drivers in January 2015,” says Mike McGurk, Transurban spokesman. “We hope the winter will be kind to us,” he says.
Nine miles of the 95 Express Lanes will consist of a new roadway providing two additional travel lanes between Dumphries and Garrisonville Road in Stafford County.
But much of the 29-mile express lanes stretching between Stafford County and Alexandria will utilize the existing HOV lanes that vehicles can use free during off-peak hours or free-during rush hours with three or more passengers.
And that will mean an adjustment for many drivers.
When the tolling system becomes active, all vehicles using the roadway at any time will need to have either an E-ZPass or E-ZPass flex transponder.
The $35 fee to acquire the transponders is deposited into a subscriber’s account to use for tolls.
Transurban currently operates the 495 Express Lanes on the Capital Beltway.
The project also will expand capacity on the current HOV lanes. An extra lane will be added between Edsall Road on Interstate 395 and the Prince William County Parkway along Interstate 95.
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