NORFOLK — The opening of express lanes designed to alleviate some of Hampton Roads’ thickest traffic won’t be happening in December as previously scheduled, officials say.
The Virginia Department of Transportation announced its plan to convert I-64’s existing reversible HOV lanes into tolled express lanes. The plan was to open the new lanes in December, which would run from I-564 to just before the I-264/I-64 interchange.
But that projected opening will be pushed back at least 60 days to allow for “additional testing of electronic tolling equipment,” according to VDOT.
The move comes as VDOT’s latest series of tests on the express lanes showed that they were not ready to open, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne wrote in a news release.
“There’s no room for error, especially in Hampton Roads — a region that’s seen poorly executed toll collections,” Layne wrote.
When they do open, the express lanes will serve westbound drivers from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the weekdays, and eastbound traffic from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Toll prices will vary for single drivers during peak hours, and cars with multiple passengers will be able to use the lanes for free with an E-ZPass FLEX transponder set to the “HOV On” mode.
Travelers can use the lanes for free outside of peak hours.
Information for this article was taken from Southside Daily’s archive.
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