Beltway devastation

Would you pay as much as $5 or $6 to avoid some congestion on the beltway? The Virginia Department of Transportation is betting enough overstressed business people will pay to drive on the new “hot lanes” to help cover the $1.4 billion cost of the project, slated to be completed in 2013. The hot lanes will be in the middle and will have separate ramps. Cars will need E-Z passes, which will electronically deduct the fees from users’ accounts. The tolls are expected to range from about 10 cents a mile when traffic is light to $1 a mile during peak times. Carpoolers and buses will not have to pay.

The hot lanes will run from the Springfield interchange to just beyond the Dulles roll road. If that project is successful, the concept could be expanded to the entire beltway. According to VDOT, only seven or eight homes have been demolished, while an earlier beltway expansion would have eliminated 300 homes. The project includes new bridges, sound walls, and trees. Meanwhile, the construction has decimated a huge swath of plant life on both sides of the beltway.