In a recent article in the Washington Examiner, it was reported that Gov. Bob McDonnell wants to put the Interstates 95/395 HOT lanes project "back on track." McDonnell and his transportation secretary Sean Connaughton want to make this project a priority. I would like to encourage them to listen to the commuters of Prince William County, who strongly oppose this project because of the risk to the HOV system. As a Republican, I am reluctant to criticize our new governor, and I wish him great success. However, this is not a partisan issue, it is a common sense issue. There simply is not enough capacity in these lanes at rush hour to accommodate this.
In the article, Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth was quoted as saying that one of the main problems with HOT lanes that came out during the Beltway HOT lane project was that taxpayers will be carrying a far larger burden than many people realize. For example, with the Beltway project, if the percentage of carpools (non-revenue vehicles) is more than about 25 percent, I understand that the taxpayers will pay a "fine" to the developers for many decades.
As I see it, if such a legal contract were imposed on the I-95 project, the penalties would start from the first day of operation, since probably 80 percent of the vehicles would be carpools.
As a final point, we also need to realize that the availability of free, reversible HOVs on the off-peak and weekend hours is critical to preventing total gridlock. Don't kid yourself, the developers would love to see gridlock in the regular lanes. That would be a scenario in which they would greatly profit.
BOB HUGMAN
Woodbridge
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