How many times have you been stuck in traffic late for a “can’t miss meeting?” How many times have you been parked in gridlock trying to get home to see your child in a school play or in a soccer game? I bet you would have been willing to pay money to avoid the jam and get to your destination in time. Well thanks to the Georgia Department of Transportation’s new I-85 Express Lanes project, you soon will be able to.
As construction continues on the I-85 “High Occupancy Toll” lanes, I have found that commuters are still a bit confused about what the program will mean to them. Here are some basic facts to help you out.
The HOT or express lanes on I-85 will be set up where the current HOV lanes are now on I-85, between the Chamblee Tucker exit in Dekalb County and just north of the Old Peachtree Road exit in northern Gwinnett County.
Commuters will have the option of using the express lanes to avoid delays on the regular lanes of I-85. In order to use the express lanes you will need a “Peach Pass” similar to the current Ga. 400 Cruise Card. If you have a Cruise Card already, that will work in the HOT lanes as well.
There will be no charge for vehicles with three or more passengers. Motorcycles and alternate fuel vehicles will be allowed to use the express lanes free of charge. That does not include “hybrid” vehicles.
Even carpoolers with three or more passengers will still have to register and drive with a “Peach Pass.”
The Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority will be responsible for monitoring drivers using the lane through a system of sensors and cameras.
How much will it cost you to travel in the HOT express lanes? It depends on how bad traffic is.
“Costs are tied to supply and demand. If the normal lanes of I-85 are at free flow then it’s going to cost you a lot less. If the general purpose lanes are gridlocked, then there’s more demand for space in the express lane and the price is going to go up,” said DOT Communications Officer Teri Pope.
Malika Wilkins, Director of Marketing and Communications for the State Road and Tollway Authority says that the per -mile cost will be between 10 and 90 cents, depending on traffic conditions.
So it seems at its worst, if you travel the entire length of the HOT lane in horrible traffic conditions it would cost you $13.50. When I-85 is wide open, it will cost you $1.50. Wilkins said however that they anticipate commuters using the lane for only five or six miles.
But again, vehicles with three passengers get to use the lane for free, and no one is forcing you to use the lane at all.
“We are giving our customers a choice. If you are in northern Gwinnett County and you have to get to downtown Atlanta to get to a doctor’s appointment, you can choose to pay the premium and use that lane. But you don’t have to use that lane. We are trying to give people another option,” Pope said. “There’s a limited amount of asphalt out there. We are trying to maximize the asphalt that we have and give our customers the option to pay to get somewhere faster when they need to.”
Eight other cities in the U.S. currently use HOT lanes including Denver, Houston, Miami and San Diego.
Wilkins said the hope is to have the I-85 Express Lane up and running this summer, probably in August. You can get more information at georgiatolls.com
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