Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Virginia’s Interstate Hell Hole

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by

James A. Bacon
in

 Annual Person-Hours of Delay on Interstate 95. Source: Radio IQ

At a meeting this week of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), reports Radio IQ, Director Justin Brown brought up what the radio station deemed a “troubling” point regarding the horrendous, worst-in-the-country traffic congestion on Interstate 95 between Northern Virginia and Richmond: the express lanes designed to alleviate traffic are run by a private operator — Australia-based Transurban.

“The way it’s structured, the state has to pay the operator if the state builds any projects that are proven to divert any traffic away from the I-95 express lanes,” Brown said. “We tried to quantify the monetary impact of that. But nobody had a great guess, and everyone said it would be really big.”

Yes, it’s true. As a condition of plowing billions of dollars of private equity into I-95 express lanes, to be funded with toll revenue, Transurban did, in fact, demand assurances that the Commonwealth would not undercut its investment by upgrading existing capacity and diverting traffic from its express lanes. If the state hadn’t offered the guarantee, there would be no express lanes — the state didn’t have the money to build them — and there would be no congestion relief.

If JLARC wants to quantify monetary impacts, don’t stop at examining Transurban’s decades-long express-lane monopoly. Calculate how many more person-hours of delay there would be if Transurban hadn’t built the express lane. Then render judgment.

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54 responses to “Virginia’s Interstate Hell Hole”

  1. Fred Costello Avatar
    Fred Costello

    Any calculation should include the ROI that Transurban has realized. My guess is that the ROI is quite small.

  2. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    One question would be how effective are the new HOT Lanes in reducing traffic? I believe they just completed the last segment south a few months back, so there may not be too much data. Need more lanes to Richmond I suspect for shore traffic days.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      The people that use them love them. The people that don't, hate them. Transurban seems happy.

      I carpooled to work for 34 years. It was the same route day after day and made no sense to drive solo (I thought). How folks insist on driving solo to / from work every day no matter the congestion levels, the "hell" is beyond me. I have little sympathy for them and am fine with the express lanes for those who choose to NOT drive solo every day.

      So people have responsible jobs… that require them to exercise good judgement and not do careless or wasteful things, right?

      So these very same people CHOOSE to use bad judgement and make wasteful choices on the way to their job that requires them?

      And somehow, this is the fault of VDOT and Transurban?

    2. Rosie Avatar
      Rosie

      Additional lanes typically just increase the amount of traffic and don’t alleviate congestion. However, that is just generic lanes, so I’m not sure how express and other specialized lane types affect the number.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        new free lanes attract additional traffic because some people actually do stay away if the roads are bad and will come back if new lanes.

        Pretty sure it was a Conservative think tank that proposed variable tolls roads that varied with congestion levels.. which is what the express lanes are.

        If the Express lanes extended to Richmond, every could choose what they wanted and I'd choose the express lanes in a heartbeat not only because of less congestion, but less yahoos who apparently don't like tolls as a group!

  3. William O'Keefe Avatar
    William O’Keefe

    I-95 from Richmond to Northern Virginia is a disgrace. There are accidents that shut down lanes almost everyday and the express lane charges are deemed by many drivers to be too high. That is why the volume is low.
    Time has a value but many don't see it. With today's technology and the development of AI, VDOT should be able to develop a plan that keeps the flow of traffic moving at a reasonable speed.
    Drivers cause a lot of the problems but there is little the state can do to change their behavior except ticketing for excessive speed and dangerous driving.

  4. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    Who sets the rates for the express lanes, Transurban to maximize revenue or VDOT to maximize traffic flow?

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    I actually think if you had express lanes all the way to Richmond it would be a good thing. People make choices and if people could choose between a non-toll lane and a toll-lane it serves everyone better.

    I think Transurban might be up for it now that they have real experience with their existing toll lanes and the good thing is that there is still available right-of-way to add those lanes right now.

    I'm betting right now inside of VDOT, they're looking at this exact thing and Transurban is in on it.

    Prior to the express lanes from Fredericksburg north, there were vocal opponents… and some doubts if people would use them.
    No more, they are successful with good demand and the people that use them are vocal supporters.

    VDOT did not build them on a whim. After the additional lanes were built, there was no more right-of-way. They weren't going to add any more lanes unless they tore down interchanges and commercial businesses that sit on the rights-of-ways. So this was a last chance and VDOT decided to offer drivers a choice between peak hour congestion and gridlock and paying for a more reliable ride.

    That's something that many people would do now especially with all the accidents and shutdowns on the "free lanes". Got somewhere where you have to be at some hour? Take the express lanes.. money well spent!

  6. LesGabriel Avatar
    LesGabriel

    The first question that comes to my mind is did the agreement between VDOT and Transurban specify the methodology that would determine when a diversion payment is due and how much. Does the agreement cover improvements to alternate North-South corridors such as Route 1, or only improvements to the mainline !-95? Has this provision been implemented so far, and if so, how were the payment levels determined. If there is not a detailed, agreed-upon method, it seems to be a question that taxpayers will spend a lot on lawyers in the future.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      It's a very detailed contract and includes improvements beyond I-95 itself. Transurban is
      a group of investors looking to get a guaranteed return on investment and did.

      https://p3.virginia.gov/doc…
      https://www.washingtonpost….

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      It's a very detailed contract and includes improvements beyond I-95 itself. Transurban is
      a group of investors looking to get a guaranteed return on investment and did.

      https://p3.virginia.gov/doc…
      https://www.washingtonpost….

  7. SudleySpr Avatar
    SudleySpr

    Any transportation modeler knows any change in the road network will impact I95.

    Speaking of Virginia inter-state roads…. look to a new connection being built right up to the western border. WV is building what they call "Corridor H" highway 48. This would connect to 81 near Strasburg, it looks like an extension of I66. I'll leave it at that for the moment.

    1. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      I've heard repeatedly that VDOT has no intention of building their part of Corridor H.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        And Maryland no part of a western bypass.

        1. how_it_works Avatar
          how_it_works

          We already have a western bypass, it’s called US15.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            all the way around DC?

          2. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            It connects to I270/70 in Frederick and at I66 in Gainesville. It suffices.

          3. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            It'd be better if it was four-lane divided for its entire length…

            Or maybe not – that might encourage more people to use it…

            I have found that it is usually faster to run right through the middle of Leesburg than to use the "bypass" that takes you around the east side of the town.

          4. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            The portion of US15 in Maryland between Point of Rocks and Frederick is far better than the portion between Haymarket and Point of Rocks.

  8. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
    f/k/a_tmtfairfax

    I'd rather drive between Los Angeles and San Diego than between Washington, D.C. and Richmond. One of the best things about moving to North Carolina is not having to drive that stretch of Interstate I-95 very often.

    Interestingly, my wife and I spent last week vacationing in Virginia Beach. With the exception of our trip from Williamsburg to VB through the HRBT, traffic moved reasonably well throughout the Tidewater Area. Somehow, I suspect VDOT did a much better job of building highway capacity there than in NoVA.

    Express Lanes are a good thing. They give people an economic choice and permit reliable express bus service.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Charotte and Chapel Hill are not winners either.

      1. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        We travel to Florida and back every year, and Charlotte used to be a hell hole. Coming back this year we picked up the express lanes just south of Charlotte all the way to Mooresville. Best 20 bucks I ever spent :>) !

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          It’s a big argument in Charlotte as in the one in Atlanta … I hear.
          but yes, I have EZ-pass and no question in an urban area I’m not well familiar with
          it’s no contest.. I paid $35 tolls on a toll road near Colorado Springs – towing a
          small camper… I think it was legal but they did boost the price. Still was okay.
          And I don’t know how many in Va go to Nags Head but seems like the only
          way is through that toll road! 😉

  9. John Fisher Avatar
    John Fisher

    I have to drive to DC from Richmond once every three months. I take the HOV lanes all the way up. It lowers the stress level from the drive a lot and is worth the cost.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Anyone from outside the DC area that wants to travel through will choose the express lanes if they can. It's a whole lot easier than fighting the congestion and yahoo behaviors in the "free" lanes.

      I think express lanes all the way from DC to Richmond would be wildly successful.

      They are NOT cheap to construct. Every single bridge, overpass and interchange has to be torn down and rebuilt. It takes a long time for Transurban to recoup the billions they spent upfront.

  10. Acbar Avatar
    Acbar

    I'm glad to see the epithet "hell hole" applied by a Richmonder to conditions on a stretch of road that everyone in northern Virginia has long known is the result of decades of postponed improvements (while other bottlenecks got fixed). Well, the worst of it has now been fixed (assuming the express lanes are open in the direction you want to go). But look who's paying for that? Not the general public. Not Richmond.

  11. Haig48 Avatar
    Haig48

    Road construction is way too complicated for vdot . not a good track record. Look at hundreds of millions spent on route460 and not a shovel of dirt moved

  12. how_it_works Avatar
    how_it_works

    The unofficial bypass to I95 congestion is what we in Nokesville call the Stafford County Parkway, which consists of Bristow Rd, Valley View Drive, Parkgate Drive, and Fleetwood Drive in PWC. There's so much traffic going to and through Stafford that the 4-way stop at Aden Road and Fleetwood Drive routinely backs up for a mile or more during the evening rush hour.

    PWC DOT had proposed a plan to make that a roundabout, but let's get serious, why should PWC spend a dime to benefit Stafford (and Spotsylvania) commuters who are too cheap to use the HOT lanes?

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      I agree. But We now have a proposal to build another bridge over the Rappahannock and a connecting road to the Centerporte Parkway.

      1. how_it_works Avatar
        how_it_works

        It would be a benefit to me if they'd find an alternative path that doesn't involve going through Nokesville, apparently a lot of these people can't afford to replace the muffler that rusted off the junk they drive. I guess they all moved to Spotsy when Manassas got too expensive for them.

      2. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Great. Put $5/mile tolls on those roads.

        Why should NoVa have all the fun?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          I support that – to pay for the bridge from the people that use it and to assure that there actually
          is a valid “need”… make it part of the express lanes…

      3. how_it_works Avatar
        how_it_works

        It would be a benefit to me if they'd find an alternative path that doesn't involve going through Nokesville, apparently a lot of these people can't afford to replace the muffler that rusted off the junk they drive. I guess they all moved to Spotsy when Manassas got too expensive for them.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Stafford has had 30 years to build a north/south path west of I-95 and has not. They’ve waited
          until now the express lanes are built and may not be able to without compensating Transurban.

          1. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            What, Garisonville Rd (which eventually becomes Fleetwood Drive) doesn't count?

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            can you get from that road south to rt 17 without I-95?

          3. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Not directly, but it is possible, you come out on Poplar Rd (aka Pothole Rd).

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            … painfully… yes… no direct “parkway” and they’ve had decades to do it… and chose not to.

          5. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            I lost a hubcap on one of those roads. Saw it fly off the car as I bounced over a pothole. Amazingly, it was stopped by a fencepost. I turned around and got it back.

          6. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            They’re 1930 era roads built to 35mph design specs. Totally ignored by the herd.

          7. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Posted at 45MPH

          8. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Yep,, and I get tailgated every day at 50mph.

  13. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    https://wjla.com/news/local/virginia-leads-us-with-highest-toll-costs-dulles-toll-road-dulles-greenway-peak-hours-fees-virginia-commute-drivers-dmv-transportation

    "States with the highest/lowest average maximum passenger vehicle fee on interstate toll roads:

    Virginia with a $3.27 per mile fee
    Pennsylvania with a $1.73 per mile fee
    Maine with a $1.56 per mile fee
    California with a $1.38 per mile fee
    Colorado with a $1.36 per mile fee"

    Wake up and smell the coffee, Jim.

    The Imperial Clown Show in Richmond™ has sold out the citizens of Virginia …. again.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      more "good" stuff:

      The Elizabeth River Downtown Tunnel, headed towards Portsmouth, contributed most to the average, with a $7.5 maximum, the third most expensive bridge/tunnel toll nationwide.

      According to LendingTree, high toll costs could also impact auto insurance rates. Higher tolls typically indicate more traffic congestion and more accidents, which could cause insurers to adjust premiums.

      Virginia ranks 4th in states with most confrontational drivers

      “Broadly, higher tolls are one more thing that adds to the growing cost of vehicle ownership,” auto insurance expert Rob Bhatt said. “Gas prices have come down from their peaks, but they’re still high. Car insurance rates have seen pretty dramatic rises over the past few years. The costs of car maintenance and repairs have also shot up in recent years.”

      1. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        Virginia ranks 4th in states with most confrontational drivers

        By whom?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          https://finance.yahoo.com/news/study-finds-virginia-ranks-first-150551996.html

    2. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      They just think it's the cost of living in the greatest state in the world.

    3. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      and Maryland?

  14. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    A four-lane no-truck highway from Ashland to North Philadelphia with no exits and a $100 one-way toll would pay for itself in a year.

    Rte. 13 if going to New England.
    Rte. 17 & 301 to Baltimore and vicinity.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      New location roads are HARD these days. Almost always requires a full NEPA and a pile of eminent domain takes. VDOT and many state DOTs have transitioned from building new roads to managing the existing network with some new right-of-way and ED for connecting roads and such.

      But a major new north/south corridor in the East would be quite shocking and less and less likely.

      New roads don't reduce congestion , they attract more driving instead – they induce it unless they are a true connecting road.

  15. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    I have driven from Warrenton to Hyannisport, Mass back toWarrenton and all over the south to Vicksburg, Mississippi and back in the last 10 days. 4,000 miles. Worst Interstate was 81 and it didn't matter which state you were in. Best highways? Mississippi. Smooth, free, and light traffic. Love the Magnolia State.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      With the exception of the northbound lanes of I-59 (north of Birmingham), I thought Alabama's highways were pretty nice as well. Southbound I-59 is great, but the northbound lanes seem to have been constructed from some kind of corrugated paving material…

  16. Marty Chapman Avatar
    Marty Chapman

    Long term solution to I-95 RIC to DC might be to move large parts of the Federal Government out of DC/NOVA. The FBI could use a new HQ. Clarksburg, WV might work. Frankly, I would prefer Minot, ND.

  17. Drive-by Commentator Avatar
    Drive-by Commentator

    All of which is more proof that private contractors have no business operating public services. Water, sewer, electricity, roads should be publicly owned and operated, and, yes, that means "the guvmint" should own and operate the water, sewer, electric, and road systems.

    Decades ago Wisconsin learned the danger of private ownership or management of roads when they farmed out the operation of their toll roads to a private company. When winter hit and snow clogged roads statewide, reducing most multi-lane roads to two or three lanes, the state wanted to suspend the tolls on toll roads and allow all traffic to flow on the toll roads until all lanes could be cleared. The private operators refused — because they did not want to lose the income from the toll roads, screw commuters.

    Ditto for all other public services.

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