Fixing I-66: How do you do it?

WASHINGTON - Brake lights stack up side by side on Interstate 66 every day. You'll see them eastbound and westbound, just about any time of day in any direction.

But on a road where it can take 40 minutes in the morning to travel the 6.5 miles from Route 50 to the Beltway, push may be coming to shove.

An amazing 66 percent of solo drivers who use the roadway now say they are thinking about a switch to transit. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is about to complete a sweeping review of I-66, providing a basis for short-term and long-term relief from the gridlock.

DRPT just wrapped-up three public information meetings on the topic and has delivered a preliminary report.

"It's pretty obvious that service is not reliable. It is just unpredictable how long it is going to take on the roadway," says Mike Harris, coordinator with DRPT.

"One of the things we heard in the public meetings and the survey we did was time. People's time came up across the board as the most valuable thing, in this region in particular. In other regions in the country, you find cost rising to the top. Cost was certainly a factor (on I-66), but time was very, very important here in this region."

So the question becomes, how do you give commuters their time back?

A Metrorail extension throughout the corridor is a long-term solution, but in the near term, DRPT is focusing on components, such as a system of fast-moving buses that travel from point to point. For example, commuters could drive to a parking lot in Gainesville, leave their cars and get on a bus that would zip them directly into D.C.

"Express type service, is really what we are finding a demand for," says Harris.

Direct access ramps along the roadway that provide immediate connections to Metro parking lots also are moving forward. Right now, a direct ramp from the HOV lanes on I-66 to the Vienna Metro Station is moving into the preliminary engineering stage.

"That certainly will help alleviate some weaving and crossing over those general purpose lanes," says Harris.

The High Occupancy Vehicle lanes also seem destined for a change. VDOT is currently studying how changes to the hours of use and number of people required to use the lanes could improve traffic flow.

"They are looking at different operational aspects to help increase efficiency," says Harris.

"We really need to do what we can to make sure the HOV lanes operate at full performance. As you know with those HOV lanes, in congestion, sometimes the speed is about the same as the general purpose lanes."

The need to take action on I-66 appears pressing.

DRPT's travel forecast for the I-66 corridor shows that from 2005 to 2030, commuter trips that begin along the corridor will increase by 22 percent. The number of trips destined to the corridor will increase by 40 percent.

A final report with a set of concrete recommendations is due next month.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)