Three miles of high-occupancy vehicle lanes on Interstate 395 that have been open to all drivers for 25 years would be restricted under a proposal by state transportation officials.
The Virginia Department of Transportation recommended the change, which would start in mid-January, to ensure carpoolers have an advantage over their solo counterparts and to improve the consistency of the HOV lanes.
The state scuttled the HOV requirements between the Duke Street and Capital Beltway exits in 1982 because traffic backed up so badly during the snarling rush hour.
However, the $676 million Springfield Mixing Bowl overhaul completed this year improved traffic flow enough to restrict the lanes during the afternoon rush hour, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Joan Morris said.
“It has improved traffic flow enormously through the region … and the congestion has been pretty much eliminated. There is no reason to have that exception anymore,” Morris said. “If we hadn’t let them use it all these years, we just would have had an unacceptable situation in the regular lanes,” she said.
A recent traffic study showed little difference in travel times between the regular and HOV lanes over the 3-mile stretch, Morris said. “We think a lot of those people are staying in the regular lanes, anyway.”
Commuters used to switching to the HOV lanes every afternoon are in for an unwelcome surprise, but it’s for a good reason, AAA spokesman Lon Anderson said.
“The HOV lanes only work if they’re more mobile than the regular lanes. If they’re as clogged as the rest of the lanes, all incentive is lost,” he said.
If the Commonwealth Transportation Board approves the recommendation at its Dec. 13 meeting, the restrictions would begin in mid-January, and the state would begin a public-relations effort immediately.
