Caltrans and Yolo County Transportation District (YoloTD) want to widen Interstate 80 in Yolo County and into Sacramento County. I previously wrote about this project in missing alternatives for Yolo 80 Managed Lanes Project. The list of alternatives seems to continually change. I saw a presentation at the SACOG Transportation Committee meeting this week that had a different list of alternatives. But the one on the Caltrans ‘Yolo 80 Corridor Improvements Project’ website is:

• Build Alternative 2a: Add a high-occupancy vehicle lane in each direction for use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOV 2+).
• Build Alternative 2b: Add a high-occupancy vehicle lane in each direction for use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOV 2+) and build an I-80 managed lane direct connector.
• Build Alternative 3a: Add a high-occupancy toll lane in each direction for free use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOT 2+). Single-occupied vehicles would pay a fee for lane usage.
• Build Alternative 3b: Add a high-occupancy toll lane in each direction for free use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOT 2+) and build an I-80 managed lane direct connector. Single-occupied vehicles would pay a fee for lane usage.
• Build Alternative 4a: Add a high-occupancy toll lane in each direction for free use by vehicles with three or more riders (HOT 3+). Vehicles with less than three riders would pay a fee for lane usage.
• Build Alternative 4b: Add a high-occupancy toll lane in each direction for free use by vehicles with three or more riders (HOT 3+) and build an I-80 managed lane direct connector. Vehicles with less than three riders would pay a fee for lane usage.
• Build Alternative 5a: Add an express lane in each direction (i.e., everyone would pay a fee to use the lane, regardless of the number of riders).
• Build Alternative 5b: Add an express lane in each direction (i.e., everyone would pay a fee to use the lane, regardless of number of riders), and build an I-80 managed lane direct connector.
• Build Alternative 6a: Add a transit-only lane in each direction.
• Build Alternative 6b: Add a transit-only lane in each direction and build an I-80 managed lane direct connector.
• Build Alternative 7a: Repurpose the current number one general-purpose lane for use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOV 2+); no new lanes would be constructed.
• Build Alternative 7b: Repurpose the current number one general-purpose lane for use by vehicles with two or more riders (HOV 2+); no new lanes would be constructed. Build an I-80 managed lane direct connector.

Note that of these 12 alternatives, 10 of them add a lane to the existing six lanes, which is capacity expansion, while 6 of them would be tolled in some manner. High occupancy toll (HOT) lanes charge vehicles that do not meet the minimum passenger count (often 2, but could be 3). Express lanes charge every vehicle using the lane, though there might be discounts for higher occupancy or certain types of vehicles, or certain times of day when there is no congestion.

I will have a lot more to say about the overall project in the future, but this post is about the tolling.

YoloTD, SACOG, and Caltrans are working on an application to the state for a regional tolling authority, a JPA – joint powers authority, that would administer tolls on these managed lanes. The proposal will be before the SACOG board on Monday, for review but not final decision (which would be in January). The two agenda documents are the staff report and the Toll Authority JPA. At the transportation committee meeting, there was general support for tolling and for the JPA, but clear discomfort about Caltrans as the possible lead agency (no one trusts Caltrans these days, though few people will say that publicly). The JPA would initially just be for the Yolo County I-80 section, but would be created so that it could include any managed lanes in the SACOG region. There are no managed lanes in the region currently, but there are in the bay area and southern California.

A tolling authority is probably a good idea. Freeways are tremendously expensive to build and to maintain, and the federal and state gas tax come nowhere close to funding either. Tolling would at least put money in the bank for maintenance. It has been suggested that it could also fund additional service for the Capitol Corridor trains and perhaps better bus service between Davis and Sacramento, but there is nothing in the JPA agreement that obligates such expenditures. It would be up to the JPA board. Income could also be used to construct other managed lanes on freeways in the region. Of course I am opposed to any added lanes, so new managed lanes are not a good use of the income. That is a risk of the JPA, that income could be used to make things worse in other places.

More info (there are quite a number of other media articles from the TV stations):

• CapRadio: The Sacramento region could see its first toll lanes. Caltrans wants to know what you think.
• SacBee: Express toll lanes planned for I-80, Hwy 50 near Sacramento (firewall)
• Caltrans: Caltrans Seeks Comment on Interstate 80 Toll Express Lanes Project
• Yolo County: Yolo 80 Corridor Improvement Project