The cost for using the I-85 HOT lane through Gwinnett and DeKalb counties hit $7 during Thursday’s morning commute, tying a record set just a day earlier.

The price to bypass slower traffic along the 16-mile stretch of I-85 southbound reached the $7 mark shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday.

The HOT lane toll is set on a sliding scale depending on the level of congestion on I-85 and in the HOT lane.

According to the State Road and Tollway Authority website, “when HOT lanes become too congested, the price increases and this in turn reduces the number of cars entering the lane.”

The website says that the authority’s goal is to keep traffic in the HOT lane moving at an average speed of greater than 45 mph during peak hours.

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Delta employees are under investigation because of content “related to the recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk” that “went well beyond healthy, respectful debate,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a companywide memo Friday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez