Georgia (USA) to introduce pure toll lanes as new capacity

Most "managed lanes" or "express lanes" in the USA are what I'd call pure HOT lanes.  They are tolled, but High Occupancy Vehicles (HOVs - cars with 2 or 3 or more occupants) are allowed to use them for free.  More often than not such lanes are conversions from HOV lanes (also called "transit" or "carpool" lanes).

Not Georgia's I-75 Express Lanes project, which I mentioned previously in an article about public attitudes to such lanes.

These are new build lanes.  Brand new capacity.  These are pure toll lanes (although local buses can use them for free), with all cars using them having to pay.  Trucks are not allowed to use them.

Atlanta Forward blog has published a debate on the pros and cons of the I-75 Express lanes project The project is a reversible Express toll lane (between 1 and 2 lanes) between SR 155 and SR 138 along an over 12 mile stretch of the Interstate. It is under development now and will be completed in 2016. 

The lanes will be northbound (towards Atlanta) in the AM peak and southbound in the PM peak. Tolls will be dynamic, so will vary in real time according to demand on the lanes. 

A DSRC transponder will be offered for those wishing to use the lanes, or they may choose to pay after usage with a bill sent to the vehicle owner’s address after the number plate has been captured by cameras. The latter option will be more expensive. All revenues from the lanes will be used to pay the capital costs of the lanes, which are estimated to be US$150 million. Trucks are curiously not allowed to use them. 

It will be interesting indeed to see if the lanes can pay for themselves, as this is rare (and explains why such lanes are rare outside the US – as most HOT/toll lanes are conversions, not new lanes). 

The arguments for the toll lane are: 

- They provide a new option; 

- The new capacity will not get congested as pricing will ensure that; 

- Some will use them every day, but most wont. Only when there is a time sensitive appointment, like a meeting; 

- The lanes benefit other travellers because they will reduce congestion on untolled lanes, and buses will have unhindered trips.

Arguments against tolls on the lanes are: 

- Untolled lanes would be used more; 

- Most users will be local, wealthy, extravagant or late; 

- It’s “UnAmerican” to pay (I actually though it was un-Soviet); 

- Gas tax is fairer because everyone will pay and then other road improvements can be built. 

Naturally I’m supportive of the lanes, because ignoring pricing is ignoring an opportunity for those who want new capacity to have to pay for it. It is also right that people pay for premium service when they need it. Unpriced roads risk congestion, the toll lanes promise a standard of service that the “free” egalitarian public domain roads can’t promise.   

Hopefully Georgians will come to see them as an asset, and that it provides a valuable option.  However, my other interest is whether the lanes will pay for themselves.

If so, they provide a new model for considering how new capacity can be paid for.

Review of toll roads in the US SouthEast

The Raleigh Public Record has published an interesting review summarising toll roads in several states from North Carolina down to Florida.

It reviews the following roads:

- Triangle Expressway (North Carolina's first toll road);

- Southern Connector (South Carolina, tolled part of I-185);

- GA 400 (Georgia);

- Veterans' Expressway Toll Road 589 (part of Florida Turnpike system);

- Foley Beach Express toll road (Alabama).

The key comparisons are about pricing per mile, which ranges from US$0.30 to US$3 for a car, reflecting different traffic volumes to spread the fixed costs of the road, availability of alternatives (making toll prices a function of the costs of diversion in time) and different business models (Foley Beach is fully private and quite expensive). 

Fear that tolling Columbia River Crossing will result in excessive diversion

CRC in blue adjacent to I-5, I-205 is upstream on the right

The news of the 50% reduction in traffic expected on SR 520 in Seattle from tolls has caused concerns in Oregon that the proposed tolled Columbia River Crossing project (which will replace the current over 95 year old "bridge lift" equipped bridge that forms Interstate 5 connecting Oregon with Washington) will suffer a major diversion of traffic to Interstate 205's Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge some 6 miles upstream. 

The Columbian reports some concerns that estimates of toll revenue (neither route is currently tolled) are excessive and cites the expected 50% diversion in Seattle as likely for Oregon.   It claims the 2009 toll study only predicted diversion of less than 10% by 2030.

The bridge is estimated to cost between US$3.1 and $3.5 billion (including a light rail extension), with about a third coming from tolls, a third from the Federal Government and the rest from both Washington and Oregon State Governments.

Tolls are to be electronic free flow using DSRC and ANPR, with peak congestion based charges.  Curiously it has a break down of revenue and expenditure (although toll rates are not defined yet) of:

91% revenue from tolls, 9% from surcharges on ANPR based transactions.

69% of expenditure is to be available to service debt on the bridge, 23% pays for toll collection costs and systems maintenance, 5% are "uncollectable tolls" (written off), 3% paying credit card fees and 1% for operations and maintenance of the bridge.

It appears to be a very high cost of collection, something that ought to be seriously reduced over time. I'd hope that 26% toll collection costs should easily be half that within 3-5 years.

However, it will be fair to assume that there will be substantial diversion in the initial years.   What it will take to minimise this is for tolls to be at lower prices initially whilst accounts are opened up and people get used to free flow tolling when neither state has much experience of it (and people in Portland are to be expected to become familiar with it).  The effort taken on the customer service end for the first year will be well worthwhile.

More tolls unpopular in Georgia, USA according to newspaper

The Times Herald Editorial in Georgia USA asked if its readers would support more tolling. What drove this was the announcement by Gov. Nathan Deal announced the first public-private road construction project -- a $968 million plan to construct toll lanes on Interstate 75 north of Atlanta primarily in congested Cobb County. The project involves a managed lane system along I-75 from the SR 155 (Zack Hinton Parkway, South) interchange in Henry County north to the SR 138 (Stockbridge Highway) interchange in Henry and Clayton counties, a distance of 12.24 miles. It clearly provides a choice for motorists providing a tolled bypass to a congested section of highway, whilst relieving the untolled section as motorists choose the tolled lanes.

I-75 managed lanes

Yet check the reaction and comments to the idea under the editorial. Many simply think of it as paying twice, most don’t think they get a choice and some simply think they pay enough in gas tax that should pay for roads. It looks like some serious communication issues exist in Georgia, and the case for tolls need to be made on the basis that there isn’t enough collected now to pay for major improvements like this. As long as people have choice, tolls tend to be acceptable, but in Georgia it may be that a lot of work needs to be done to convince people.  Indeed, the paper noted not long afterwards how opposed people were to tolls.

If successful, this latest public-private road project could determine if other such projects take place around the state.  However it does appear that a vocal group are loudly against tolling in the state, which means the local DOT will have to take some efforts to demonstrate how and why tolling will be advantageous to motorists.   Not that Georgia is without tolls, as the State Road and Tollway Authority is responsible for a single tolling point on the GA 400, with the money going to pay for the maintenance and upgrade of the road, and the parallel public transport service.  Are the people commenting not users of this route, or is their experience that negative that they oppose tolls?

(Note: To avoid accusations of any form of parochialism, I will only use the term Georgia, as it stands, to describe the country.  Georgia, the state in the USA, will always be suffixed by the USA)