Recently, a man received a positon as a senior engineer at Google in Washington DC. Since there is no good schooling in DC for his kids to go to and he hates private schools since they’re too preppy, he turned to a house in Vienna. Making that move comes with a price when it comes to the commute. I-66 is a major artery highway connecting Northern Virginia to DC. It’s among the most congested highways in the country, with its Eastern 2/3 faltering to a point of poor service. Some are attributing the traffic chaos to the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes in I-66. These lanes only permit cars with a certain number of people inside them, which decreases the number of cars on each lane. The use of HOV lanes is in fact beneficial to the traffic congestion problem, especially when it comes to Northern Virginia.
As mentioned before, HOV lanes only let cars in if they have 2 or more people. The VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) estimates that half of all cars that travel on highways in DC have at least 2 people in them. Therefore since theoretically half the cars move to another set of lanes, there will be half the amount of cars in each lane, and travel time will be less. Statistically, HOV lanes are also effective in reducing travel time. In Norwich, UK, drivers who use the HOV lanes on the A11 highway claim they save an average of 25 minutes in their commute time. This survey shows how they already worked in the past, and how they can possibly work in the future if they are continued. In addition to decreasing time, HOV lanes have also been shown to decrease crash rates. When HOV lanes were introduced on Dallas highways, the crash rates dropped by 27% in a year, especially near the I-35/ I-635 corridors, mostly because of the buffer zone separating HOV lanes and regular lanes that prevents drivers from crossing between lanes, making them less prone to crashes.
People skeptical of HOV lanes on I-66 claim that there are flaws to the idea of the lanes. They attribute HOVs with increased crash rates. Since there is a buffer zone separating HOV and regular lanes, cars that use HOV lanes have to move to regular lanes to exit the highway. This creates points of danger where HOV and regular lanes meet. Also, the Metro is more efficient. Although it runs mostly underground, but the Orange Line runs in the median of I-66 for part of its route. The Metro is beneficial to the traffic problem of the DC area. In 2014, the WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority) built a new Silver Line extending to Reston, near Dulles Airport. The construction costs came to $2.5 billion. Without it, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority estimates that $11 billion would have to be spent building new highways connecting Dulles to DC. Also, outside of DC, a proposed plan to build a second train tunnel under the Hudson River in New York is expected to save commuters up to 45 minutes of commute time. More time can be saved in DC if the Metro expands.
These people have a reason to make these claims, yet there is a reason to say that their claims are invalid. A few of the major choke points on I-66 are, Nutley St. serving the Vienna Metro station, Gallows Road/ I-495 serving Dunn Loring Metro, Virginia Route 50 serving West Falls Church Metro, and Virginia 29 serving East Falls Church Metro. There is a noticeable correlation between choke points and location of Metro stations. Also, there is a way to eliminate crashes on HOV lanes. Some HOV lanes (such as the ones in Dallas) have separate exit systems, therefore there should be no concern about exiting.
Why should anyone have to waste about $5.00 every day, dealing with issues regarding his SmarTrip Metro Card, and repeatedly being told to “stand in the center of the car” while taking the Metro to work when he can just drive? Currently, driving is easier said than done. But when these new HOV lanes are constructed, driving will be easier done than said.
