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Tolling Points

In Colorado, Everyone Gains from New I-70 Toll

By: 
Bill Cramer
Category: 
Stories

A new variable-price toll along Interstate 70 in Colorado is delivering faster, safer trips, even for drivers who stay in the general purpose lane, the Denver Post reported last week.

On the 32 weekend days and holidays when the 13-mile eastbound lane was open during the mid-December to April ski season, average travel times in the “free” lane were 18% shorter, the Colorado State Department of Transportation reported.

"With the express lane this year, the corridor had normal travel times with traffic volumes that would've collapsed the corridor with speeds of 5 to 10 mph in previous years," I-70 Coalition Director Margaret Bowes said in a release. "People can spend less time travelling and more time at their destinations."

Colorado Tolling by the Numbers

On the express lane itself, the variable toll never got close to the authorized maximum of $30. Typical tolls on the eastbound lane were in the $4 to $6 range for vehicles with transponders, $8.33 to $11.50 for license plate tolling, Maximum tolls were $8 with all-electronic tolling, $14.67 without.

For the average eastbound trip, High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) spokesperson Megan Castle said the time saving was three minutes. But the real benefits showed up during peak hours.

“On January 31, the day with the slowest average speed this season, it took an average 17.5 minutes to travel through the corridor for all lanes, with an average moving speed of 41 mph,” the Post noted. “That was a Sunday when the Denver Broncos' afternoon AFC Championship appearance likely prompted skiers and weekend travelers to head home earlier than usual. High demand resulted in the slowest average speed measured in the express lane all season, at 47 mph.”

In past years, “it took as long as 44 minutes to drive the 13 miles on the worst days, with traffic crawling at an average 16 mph.”

The Best Is Yet to Come

The Post reported that the biggest test of the I-70 express lane—and its greatest benefit—may still be in the future.

CDOT chose the $72-million express lane project over a more expensive highway widening option, but the lane is still designated as a shoulder by federal officials. That means the state only has permission to toll the lane for 73 days each year.

“With 44% of that allotment used up, the rest [of the days] are reserved for the summer travel season,” the paper noted, “when I-70 gets even more use than in the winter and heavier traffic stretches out over more hours of the day, especially on holiday weekends.”

For more on all-electronic tolling and managed lanes, view the program here and register for IBTTA’s 2016 AET Summit, July 24-26, 2016 in Boston.

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