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- Rules for freeway express lane drivers#
- Rules for freeway express lane driver#
- Rules for freeway express lane license#
Q: Couldn't drivers just buy an E-ZPass Flex and ride with fewer than three passengers for free?Ī: Carpoolers must turn on the HOV mode on their E-ZPass transponders. Carpoolers must have the E-ZPass Flex or they will be charged the current toll. residents can apply for a Virginia or Maryland E-ZPass Flex.Ī: Yes, but if you are a carpooler you will not be able to travel for free. Or visit the E-ZPass section of the 495 Express Lanes web site and read the section about swapping your existing E-ZPass for an E-ZPass Flex.
Rules for freeway express lane driver#
If you plan to take advantage of the free trips for carpoolers, you must have an E-ZPass Flex, which allows a driver to switch to a special HOV mode.Ī: Visit the Virginia E-ZPass site, or the Maryland E-ZPass site. Any driver who wants to use the Express Lanes must have an E-ZPass. Once a driver enters the lane, their toll rate is locked in.Ī: The Express Lanes will not have toll booths. The current tolls will be posted on two sets of signs before the lanes begin and at the dedicated entrance ramps to the Express Lanes. The sensors will detect the levels of traffic and adjust the tolls to keep traffic moving. The road is fully monitored by cameras and by sensors on the side of the road. An average trip cost is estimated to be between $5 and $6. Virginia transportation officials said they expect tolls will range from 20 cents per mile during less busy times to $1.25 per mile in some sections during rush hour (though there is no offical cap on the tolls). Q: How much are the tolls for the Express Lanes?Ī: The tolls to use the lanes - if you don't have three people in your car - will vary depending on traffic conditions and how far you travel on the Express Lanes.
Rules for freeway express lane license#
Note that drivers with a hybrid car or clean fuel license plates will be subject to tolls (unless they are also carpooling) - even though that's not the case on other HOV lanes in Virginia.īuses, motorcycles and emergency vehicles also do not have to pay. Q: Who has to pay to ride on the Express Lanes?Ī: Anyone who does not have three or more people in their car. Q: What exits are there on the Express Lanes?Ī: There are nine exits on the Express Lanes: The Dulles Toll Road, Jones Branch Drive, Westpark Drive, Leesburg Pike, I-66, Lee Highway, Gallows Road, Braddock Road, the Springfield interchange to I-95, I-395 and I-495 and the I-95/I-395 HOV ramps.Īll exits off the Express Lanes are to the left. They end at the I-95/I-495 merge, near Springfield. Driving southbound, the Express Lanes begin about one mile after the George Washington Parkway/Georgetown Pike exit. Q: Where do the Express Lanes begin and end?Ī: The 495 Express Lanes run in the middle of the Capital Beltway on the Virginia side. If you are going to use the road, you should check it out. In addition, the Express Lanes website has a detailed FAQ section. So, with the help of News4 transportation reporter Adam Tuss, we've assembled this list of the answers to the most common questions we've received about the Lanes.
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However, the rules of this road may seem complicated to people used to just driving the Beltway. When demand for the road is high, tolls will go up. To do that, the Express Lanes use sophisticated technology and the law of supply and demand. The goal is to have traffic on the road travel close to 55 miles per hour, even in rush hour. On Virginia's 495 Express Lanes, if you want to avoid the traffic, you have to pay - or carpool.
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