The toll on I-66 inside the Beltway hit $46.50 on Tuesday

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Dana Hedgpeth - The Washington Post


https://i.imgur.com/uKfELUW.jpg

The toll on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway reached $46.50 for a solo driver during the Tuesday morning rush, just below a record of $47.25 set last month.

For much of the morning Tuesday, there were no major crashes in the D.C. region, but a heavy volume of commuters created delays on several highways in the Washington area. The toll reached its peak about 8:30 a.m.

About the same time the toll peaked, delays worsened as a crash blocked some inbound lanes of the Roosevelt Bridge.
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Eastbound I-66 was backed up to the Glebe Road interchange about 9:30 a.m. Minutes later, all lanes on the Roosevelt Bridge reopened and traffic conditions began to improve as rush hour wound down.

The lane closures on the bridge also brought lengthy delays on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which backed up to near the VA-123 interchange.

Michelle Holland, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said there wasn’t a specific cause for the spike in the toll price.

“Tolls are based on congestion,” she said. “The more congested it is, the higher the toll, and that’s how we manage demand for the lanes so people who are on the lanes have free-flowing traffic.”

The I-66 tolls, which are meant to encourage drivers to carpool or use public transportation inside the Beltway, have raised criticism among some drivers since they began in December. Solo drivers who travel on those 10 miles of I-66 at peak periods are charged based on a “dynamic pricing” system that changes every six minutes, depending on traffic volumes and speeds.

Drivers are charged to use the lanes if they are alone, but usage is free with two or more occupants in a vehicle with an E-ZPass Flex transponder.

On Tuesday, Jake Jenkins was driving from his home in Clifton to his job in McLean when he noticed the price hit $46. He said he watched the highway signage indicate a driver would get to the District in 20 minutes. That compared to 33 minutes if driving on U.S. 50 for free — a difference of 13 minutes.

“Who’s paying $46 for 13 minutes?” Jenkins said. “Time is money but it doesn’t balance out in my favor.”

When the toll prices spike, Jenkins said it can create a mess on the roads as drivers decide at the last minute whether to pay the toll or find an alternate route.

“People try to bail out when they see the price is at $46 all of a sudden and it is mayhem,” he said. “People in the left lane are thinking they’re going to pay the price for the toll but then they get to the sign and see what it is. Then there’s this massive lane change to bail and get on Route 50 or Route 29.”

[RBP]

What a cluster!

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And I thought it was crazy here when the toll lanes hit $9 :lol: (we have the same kind of "dynamic pricing" express lanes here, it's ridiculous)

[RBP]

I never knew that existed. All the tolls are the same here, I just have to decide if the time difference is worth the toll road.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I'm sure you will have it eventually since it's a huge moneymaker. There's big electronic signs over the interstate that show the current toll pricing. There's a base price structure and then it goes up from there based on traffic.

https://i.imgur.com/mtuKMIll.png

This is for a different highway in the area, I can't find a photo of the ones on the interstate I drive everyday. The base toll on the one I travel starts at $1

[Teh One Who Knocks]

HOV/Express Lanes are different from other Colorado toll roads in two ways:

1. There are no toll booths (all tolls are collected electronically). An EXpressToll transponder or new sticker tag is not needed but preferred and also saves you money as the toll rate is less expense with a transponder or new sticker tag.

2. Prices vary by time of day. Toll rates are higher in peak periods to maintain current travel times in the HOV/Express Lanes. The purpose of the higher tolls is to ensure the HOV/Express Lanes never become congested.

And that's bullshit, because they get backed up from people going too slow in the lanes or from people trying to exit the lane and then crossing THREE LANES of bumper-to-bumper traffic to make their exit. :rolleyes:

[Muddy]

The rich shall pass!

[RBP]

It just seems logically backwards to me. The tolls should be less when you can't get anywhere. Why am I paying for an EXPRESSWAY if you haven't designed the road to adequately handle the volume?

[Muddy]

Why am I paying for an EXPRESSWAY if you haven't designed the road to adequately handle the volume?

A road you already paid for designed by employees that you directly fund. none the less

[Teh One Who Knocks]

It just seems logically backwards to me. The tolls should be less when you can't get anywhere. Why am I paying for an EXPRESSWAY if you haven't designed the road to adequately handle the volume?

Because this was their whole idea to "allegedly" alleviate the traffic problem. Just add one lane and charge people to use it. Ironically, when the lane first opened and the toll was being waived so they could test all their electronics, the traffic actually moved better with less congestion. As soon as they started charging, the traffic went back to being awful. The highways in Colorado aren't equipped to handle the volume of people living here now, it's ridiculous.

[Pony]

It just seems logically backwards to me. The tolls should be less when you can't get anywhere. Why am I paying for an EXPRESSWAY if you haven't designed the road to adequately handle the volume?

$46.50 spent every half hour = $93 dollars an hour. $46.50 spent every four hours is ONLY $11.625 an hour. See, it's a better deal during gridlock!

[RBP]

$46.50 spent every half hour = $93 dollars an hour. $46.50 spent every four hours is ONLY $11.625 an hour. See, it's a better deal during gridlock!

Just my golf game. Per swing, my game is far less expensive than my brother in law's.

[Pony]

Just my golf game. Per swing, my game is far less expensive than my brother in law's.

Cheaper prostitutes too!


:cheerlead:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

https://i.imgur.com/eOnONpo.png

I go thru this interchange every single day. It's where 4 major highways all meet just north of downtown Denver. About 15 years ago they made "improvements" to what it looks like on that map. They said that it was already obsolete before the construction and redesign was even finished because of the amount of traffic.

:facepalm:

[Muddy]

https://i.imgur.com/eOnONpo.png

I go thru this interchange every single day. It's where 4 major highways all meet just north of downtown Denver. About 15 years ago they made "improvements" to what it looks like on that map. They said that it was already obsolete before the construction and redesign was even finished because of the amount of traffic.

:facepalm:

"meat" :lol: :beavis:

[RBP]

Cheaper prostitutes too!

:cheerlead:

My per stroke cost is higher there. :sad2:

[Hal-9000]

We don't have tolls here...dumb question.

What happens if you get stuck on a road and have no method to pay?

Or you're a cheap bastard like me and when they say - That will be 46.50 please. I show them my left nut and say - Sure, right after you suck this for me :)

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We don't have tolls here...dumb question.

What happens if you get stuck on a road and have no method to pay?

Or you're a cheap bastard like me and when they say - That will be 46.50 please. I show them my left nut and say - Sure, right after you suck this for me :)

In Colorado, there are no toll booths, it's either done with transponders in your vehicle (which I have because you get a discounted toll price if you use a transponder) or they snap a photo of your license plate and bill you at a higher toll rate, plus a service charge. And if you don't pay your toll bill, you can end up getting your license suspended.

[Hal-9000]

Transponder in your vehicle....wtf is that? A debit machine you run your card through while you drive? :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Transponder in your vehicle....wtf is that? A debit machine you run your card through while you drive? :lol:

:slap:

https://i.imgur.com/CCwI1zE.jpg

It's a little sticker you attach to your windshield with an RFID chip in it and when you go by the readers in the express lanes, it lets it know to charge you a toll.

[Hal-9000]

So then the charge is automatically sent to your bank account?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

You set up an account with the toll company and it gets billed to your debit or credit card, whatever you used. Here, you have to open your account with a $35 deposit, and it subtracts your tolls from that and then when you hit a low balance amount (under $5 I think), it refills your account with another $35.

[Hal-9000]

wild...the driving Paypal

[Pony]

You set up an account with the toll company and it gets billed to your debit or credit card, whatever you used. Here, you have to open your account with a $35 deposit, and it subtracts your tolls from that and then when you hit a low balance amount (under $5 I think), it refills your account with another $35.

Same here but the transponders are optional, we have manned toll booths and a couple "EZpass" lanes. I have one and it's actually cheaper. The account automatically replenishes below $20. The route I usually take to the islands is $.75 with the transponder or $1.25 without. It's so much faster having them.

[Pony]

wild...the driving Paypal

It's nice because you don't need to stop, simply slow down to about 10mph until it reads the signal, I have one transponder I share between vehicles, I've only forgotten it once! :banghead:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Same here but the transponders are optional, we have manned toll booths and a couple "EZpass" lanes. I have one and it's actually cheaper. The account automatically replenishes below $20. The route I usually take to the islands is $.75 with the transponder or $1.25 without. It's so much faster having them.

Transponders are optional here too, but there's no physical toll booths. You either pay the discounted toll rate by having the transponder or you get charged the 'license plate' rate and get a bill in the mail.


It's nice because you don't need to stop, simply slow down to about 10mph until it reads the signal, I have one transponder I share between vehicles, I've only forgotten it once! :banghead:

You have to slow down? We can blow part the readers at highway speed, no slowing down at all.

[Pony]

You have to slow down? We can blow part the readers at highway speed, no slowing down at all.

There are no readers on the roadway itself, only at the entrances and exits. Typically you stop, get a ticket, get on and pay to a person or ATM-like machine when you exit. The more exits you pass the higher the toll.

The are taking about changing the system to something more like yours in the future. Our turnpike does not go through the city and was purpose built to be a toll road, there are way fewer exits, typically higher speed limits and three well maintained lanes of traffic. It usually is way less congested than the alternate routes.

[Hal-9000]

:-k

You people (Americans, RBP :lol:) get a little uppity when certain privacies are invaded.

Now Big Brother/Uncle Sam has yet another way to track you electronically :suspect:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

:-k

You people (Americans, RBP :lol:) get a little uppity when certain privacies are invaded.

Now Big Brother/Uncle Sam has yet another way to track you electronically :suspect:

They're going to track you one way or another, either with the transponder or with the license plate readers. You can't get around it. There are traffic cameras all over the highways here.

[Muddy]

Minority report.

[Pony]

We don't have plate readers (yet). If I wanted to not be tracked I could slip the transponder in the supplied bag to block the signal and pay cash.

Question Lance: Does the plate reader in any way link to law enforcement? If there is a warrant out or an Amber alert will the system relay that info?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We don't have plate readers (yet). If I wanted to not be tracked I could slip the transponder in the supplied bag to block the signal and pay cash.

Question Lance: Does the plate reader in any way link to law enforcement? If there is a warrant out or an Amber alert will the system relay that info?

As far as I know, the plate readers for the express lanes don't coordinate with law enforcement. They always post the Amber Alerts on the electronic signs on the interstate.