Since this is the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system, we?ve been answering a lot of questions about why things are the way they are on interstates. Bob wrote in with one of my favorite interstate highway conundrums: “My wife and I have a question for you and your gurus. Please explain the system as it applies to Hawaii, where they now have three interstates. Haven?t noticed much work on the Honolulu-to-Los Angeles pontoon bridge!”
The answer is that any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 or funded by the federal government can be called an interstate highway, even if it doesn?t cross state lines. In fact, there are many local routes that lie entirely within a single state funded by the act.
One of the silliest is Interstate 370, which runs for about a mile and a half in Gaithersburg.
Hawaii actually has FOUR interstates ? H1, H2 and H3 ? which connect important military facilities on the island of Oahu and then the secret interstate, H-201, which is 4.1 miles long and runs from H-1 near Aiea to H-1 entering urban Honolulu. There are several other significant notes about these highways: H-3 is the most expensive interstate ever built, costing more than $100 million for each of its 15 miles. Also, the numbering system we explained the other day doesn?t apply in Hawaii either. In the national freeway system, even numbers are for highways which are primarily east-west routes, and odd numbers are for highways, which are primarily north-south. All Hawaii interstates run counter to this rule.
There are questions that need to be answered when it comes to E-ZPass, especially as they regard the way that the system replenishes our accounts. Specifically, how carefully is the monthly usage tracked and how frequently is the amount deducted lowered? How much revenue does the state make on interest earned (if any) on those account balances? The latest e-mail on this subject comes from Ed, who writes: “We checked our bank statements from E-ZPass and discovered that we were charged $25 twice to replenish our account. When we called to question the charges, we could not get a satisfactory response. Four years ago, I purchased a new car, and now we are being told that our account is in the license plate of the previous car. Something?s not right, and your column about E-ZPass confirmed our anxiety about the how the system operates. I love the convenience, but $5 usage should not result in a $50 charge. I?m not asking for your help, but someone with clout should investigate how E-ZPass operates, especially when credit cards are held hostage.”
I think we all deserve some answers and I will see what I can get in response to these questions of the folks here in Maryland who oversee the E-ZPass program.
Have questions, comments or random musings? Write to Steve@Sprawl andCrawl.com.
