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Drivers will now be able to ease through traffic as I-580 express lanes are set to open mid-February of this year, with the exact date pending due to weather conditions.
“After the completion of final sign installation, testing and lane striping, the express lanes will be scheduled to be open,” said Tess Lengyel, Deputy Director of Planning and Policy with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, in a release.
Informational signage on the I-580 freeway along with testing of tag readers for FasTrak are currently under construction.
When there are too many drivers on the freeway, drivers who are in their vehicles alone are able to pay a toll for access into the carpool lane.
The express lanes will span 14 miles in Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. Clean-air vehicles, van pools, buses and carpools are eligible to take advantage and use the express carpool lanes as long as their FasTrak Flex toll tag is mounted and visible on the windshields of driver’s cars.
“FasTrak Flex is a new type of FasTrak tag that must be set to 2-3 or more passengers that allows drivers to designate if they are driving solo or carpooling,” Lengyel said.
Drivers who plan on using the express lanes in the future are encouraged to purchase the FasTrak Flex toll tags at Costco, Walgreens or Safeway stores in the Tri-Valley area. Drivers who are more tech-savy are able to purchase their mandatory FasTrak Flex toll online at: bayareafastrak.org.
Along with purchasing the required toll tag to show while traveling in the new express lanes on the I-580 freeway, east bay drivers need to register their toll tag and create an account online on the Bay Area FasTrak’s webpage.
“Express lanes increase the efficiency of our transportation system for commuters, transit and freight by taking advantage of existing infrastructure,” Lengyel said.
The I-580 express lanes will operate and be available for drivers who are carpooling and commuting to their acquired destinations.
The operating hours of the express lanes will be Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to the Alameda County Transportation Commission, “outside of the operating hours the express lanes are open to all vehicles at no charge.”
I like the wording, express lane, ease down 580.
I like the optimism, however any of is that have driving that corridor knows different. Say eveyone buys into this and says yes that is a great idea. Well if everyone is using that “express lane” what do you expect to happen, yes another stand still lane on the freeway, except this time I am paying for it. Time will tell, yet I do not see this resolving any sort of congestion. Creating affordable housing for everyone closer to jobs would be much more beneficial than an express lane.
I think it’s all part of the common core or “new math”. Here’s the question. If you have a car pool lane and it presently goes 5 miles per hour in rush hour times, how fast will it go when you throw more cars into the car pool lane? The only answer that makes sense is less than 5. And i used common sense (not a math formula) to come up with the answer. BUT it brings more money in. So, it’s all about the money. Plus, we have to BUY another fasttrack pass to just sit in the same traffic. No thanks.
It’ll put more traffic in the non-toll lanes creating an even larger slow-down than we already have. Plus the confusion it’ll cause, especially with people who don’t live in the area. That route is a major route from those traveling from Socal on I-5 to SF.
These upbeat articles about bad news is pretty irritating.
Crazy bureaucratic agency “Planners” are allowed to do what they want, when they want, with our money, without our vote, and with NO ACCOUNTABILITY to anyone (who matters), and with no scientific proof of their wild claims and elitist ideas.
I knew this was going to be a DISASTER.
Years of construction with traffic, delays, accidents, and deaths for a special interest lane to raise money.
And LOOK, they sneaked in new longer HOURS for the whole extortion scheme. Now it is from 5 AM to 8 PM.
Later, they’ll make a carpool be 3 or more.
Later, they’ll change the hours to 24 hours.
Later, they’ll change the days to everyday.
CalTrans is evil!
Question:
What is the COST to drive in that lane?
How is it apportioned–in other words, if a car goes in the lane for one exit or increment, do they pay the same as if a car goes in the lane for 20 miles?
WE SUFFERED ALL OF THESE YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION TO FIND OUT THAT OUR LOCAL DRIVES AROUND OUR LOCAL TOWNS ARE GOING TO BE MUCH WORSE FOR US!!!!
And, especially, due to the installation of METERING SIGNALS…….and that bunch of junk science…..and political prioritization of advantage to the long-distance commuters.
That is what we really need to ENCOURAGE and FACILITATE is more LONG DISTANCE COMMUTERS!!!! (said very sarcastically, for those that didn’t get it)
I’d love to find out the NAMES of the people who brought us this dog poop…….and rub their nose in it!
(and find out their salaries and pension packages…so I can cry, while they laugh!)
They should be fired…….etc..
Do you remember getting a NOTICE about the details of this new construction design so that you could vote on it, or even comment on it? Do you remember getting that in the mail–about YOUR FREEWAY?
No, of course you don’t. THERE WAS NO NOTICE TO YOU…….because YOU don’t count, you don’t get a say, you’re too stupid and you’d get in the way of “their” Master Plan.
What’s the biggest DEPARTMENT in California, besides Education?