Drivers looking to escape backed up traffic could opt for a way out if they鈥檙e willing to pay anywhere from 17 cents to $3.76 a mile as they travel from the American Legion Bridge up Interstate 270 to Gaithersburg.
The Maryland Transportation Authority Board voted unanimously to for proposed toll lanes that are part of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan鈥檚 stated plan to break gridlock in the region.
Prices would vary depending on whether drivers use the E-ZPass, Maryland鈥檚 鈥減ay by plate鈥� arrangement, or whether they are subject to video tolling. The prices would also shift during a commute with traffic conditions. Prices would go up when congestion is especially acute.
Some users could take the toll lanes without charge. Under the plan, carpools with three or more people, motorcycles and buses would travel free in the express lanes.
Larger vehicles, like tractor trailers, would pay tolls at a higher rate, with maximum rates topping $28.22 a mile for E-ZPass holders driving vehicles with six or more axles.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Greg Slater told members of the Board, 鈥淚 think the HOV-3 that is in place in Virginia 鈥� the data shows it has really influenced the behavior 鈥� travel behavior.鈥�
Slater said the goal is to achieve the same results, with more people choosing carpools and other ways to avoid congested roadways.
During Thursday鈥檚 MDTA Board meeting, Carl Chamberlain, a project manager with the division of Programming and Project Development, detailed some of the responses in the public comment section of the MDTA鈥檚 report. Chamberlain told the Board: 鈥淭he majority of comments as expected, came from Montgomery County, that鈥檚 where the project is proposed to be so that鈥檚 to be expected.鈥�
Chamberlain said the majority of respondents travel within the project area three times a week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to know that the feedback that we鈥檙e getting is specific to the people in that area,鈥� he said.
Overall, Chamberlain said there were common themes in the comment section, with 鈥済eneral opposition to tolls, and that the recommended toll rate ranges were too high.鈥�
The tolling scheme contains a number of variables, from the 鈥渕inimum toll rate range鈥� to something called a 鈥渟oft cap鈥� rate and a 鈥渕aximum toll rate range.” The minimum toll rate is the lowest toll rate per mile and is intended to cover the cost of the tolling process. The 鈥渟oft rate cap鈥� kicks in only when a number of conditions are present, and will 鈥渁lways be lower than the maximum toll rate.鈥�
Maryland transportation officials have said the average toll for most drivers would most likely fall between $3 to $5 for a 7-mile stretch along the route.
Comments posted to the MDTA included those who said 鈥渆mployers should be incentivized to encourage/promote teleworking, thereby getting cars off the road in the first place.鈥�
Another commenter wrote, 鈥淣o toll lanes should be built.鈥�
Still another wrote of the pricing, 鈥淭he tolls are insanely excessive.”
The express toll lanes are part of Hogan’s larger proposed road project, designed to break the bottleneck at the American Legion Bridge and increase travel speeds along the I-270 corridor.
The tolls approved on Thursday are part of Phase 1 of the project, which is still in the design phase. Construction is likely years away.
