Cdot has said in the past any new lanes will be tolled.....the only tolls we see are those north of I-70. The private roads, E-470; Northwest parkway are tolled but they were not built with CDOT $..... So here is a lane being built and no tolls.. CDOT aims to ease gridlock with direct lane pilot effort in Dougco By John Aguilar, The Denver Post 11 Jul 2014, 06:25 PM A brand-new approach to congestion relief is going live in Douglas County on Monday, with the Colorado Department of Transportation establishing a direct lane that it hopes will keep traffic moving more smoothly during rush hour. The newly configured lane will run for about three miles on southbound Interstate 25 only — from just north of County Line Road to south of Lincoln Avenue. Were trying to encourage a lot of motorists who are not exiting the highway to use the left-hand lane for through travel, said CDOT spokeswoman Crystal Morgan. This is the first one were going to try in the state. A double white line will delineate the inside lane along that stretch of I-25 as the direct lane. Those who choose to enter the lane are not supposed to leave it to get off the highway at C-470/E-470 or Lincoln Avenue. Morgan said police will go easy on motorists who cross the double-line barrier at first but will start ticketing motorists for illegal change of lanes as the layout becomes more familiar. Lane striping will take place Sunday night and the new alignment will open to traffic Monday morning. CDOTs direct-lane pilot program in Douglas County will last for about a month and if its deemed successful it may be used in other congested corridors in the state. The stretch of I-25 identified for the direct lane is heavily traveled, with an average of 167,000 vehicles a day at the C-470/E-470 interchange and 209,000 vehicles a day at the County Line Road interchange. Morgan said rush-hour congestion is made worse by lane-hopping, which results from motorists seeing holes in gridlock — however brief and insignificant — and moving into adjoining lanes to gain a few feet. By staying in the inside lane and allowing motorists who are entering and exiting the highway to primarily use the outer lanes, through-drivers can benefit with faster travel speeds and a safer road, Morgan said. If we can get some people to get in that lane and stay in that lane, we can eliminate that safety risk, she said. The concept of direct lanes, which is open to any motorist and not just high-occupancy vehicles, has been used in other states effectively, Morgan said. CDOTs direct-lane initiative is mostly located on the section of I-25 that goes through Lone Tree. City spokeswoman Kristen Knoll said she thinks its a great idea. We hope the pilot program is successful and gives those motorists heading to Castle Rock and other Douglas County locations faster access without as many vehicles merging on or off the highway, Knoll said. Its definitely congested with the major intersection of C-470/E-470. Its quite busy.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 04:18:15 +0000
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