DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
District 11, P.O. Box 85406, San Diego, CA 92186-5406
THE PROJECT
The Interstate 15 Express Lanes were opened to traffic in
October 1988. The $31.5 million eight-mile-long reversible carpool
lanes were constructed in the freeway median from the junction
of I-15 and State Route 163 north to Ted Williams Parkway, with
no freeway exits. The lanes route carpools, vanpools, buses and
motorcycles south during the morning commute, 5:45 - 11 a.m.,
and north during the afternoon commute, noon - 7 p.m.
RIDERSHIP
I-15 Express Lanes encourage ridesharing by providing an alternate
route around congestion. Ridership on the lanes has jumped from
5,000 vehicles a day in 1988 to the current 13,600 vehicles a
day. Considering that it takes two people to carpool, that figure
accounts for at least 27,200 fewer vehicles a day in the main
lanes. In addition, more than 900 people a day ride the 53 county
buses that use the lanes. Motorists using the Express Lanes can
generally shave about 10-15 minutes off their commute times, while
at the same time helping to relieve congestion in the main lanes
and improve air quality. Vehicles burn fuel more efficiently and
pollute less when traveling at a steady speed than when they are
slowed in stop-and-go traffic. The lanes also benefit those who
are unable to carpool by removing qualified vehicles from the
main lanes, easing traffic.
FASTRAK
The I-15 Express Lanes became part of the FasTrak electronic
toll collection system in 1998. The FasTrak program allows solo
drivers to travel on the lanes for a fee-- but not at the expense
of carpoolers or public transit customers. FasTrak and discount
pricing will work to control the number of customers using the
Express Lanes, ensuring room for carpoolers and bus riders and
free-flowing lanes. A FasTrak transponder is affixed inside your
windshield. As the your car approaches the I-15 Express Lane,
and electronic sign indicated the toll amount you to choose to
enter, the price indicated on the sign is the price you pay. The
same transponder can be used on other California Toll road that
are part of the FasTrak system, including toll roads in Orange
County.
TRAFFIC
I-15 is one of the fastest growing freeways in San Diego County.
The volume of traffic along the route has generally tripled in
the past decade, and has been growing at an 11-percent rate the
past two years. Traffic volumes have topped 250,000 vehicles per
day at the south end of the Express Lanes, and 184,000 vehicles
per day at the north end. Traffic volumes will continue to rise
during peak commute periods. San Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG) forecasts a 92-percent population increase in the North
County Area by the year 2010.
OPERATION
The operation of the I-15 Express Lanes is controlled by computers
some 11 miles away at the Caltrans Transportation Management Center
(TMC) in Kearny Mesa in San Diego. The daily operation begins
at 5 a.m. as road crews visually check the lanes for debris and
make sure all safety devices to prevent wrong-way traffic, such
as railroad-type crossing arms and pop-up tubes, are working properly.
Changeable message signs indicate the lanes are opened to southbound
traffic at 5:45 a.m. Workers begin closing the lanes at 11 a.m.,
by changing the message signs, activating safety devices and visually
checking the lanes. A similar procedure opens and closes the lanes
to northbound traffic from noon - 7 p.m.
EMERGENCIES
Access points have been built into the I-15 Express Lanes
at one-mile stretches to allow the California Highway Patrol and
other emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances,
entrance into the lanes. The Express Lanes are also opened to
all traffic if an accident blocks two or more of the main lanes
for more than two hours. Changeable message signs will indicate
when this situation is in effect. The changeable message signs
are programmed to display three standard messages. They include:
"Express Lanes Closed," "Express Lanes Carpools
Only," and "Express Lanes All Traffic OK."
PLANNING
The eight-mile HOV system must be extended at least to State
Route 78 in Escondido to improve overall operation of I-15. This
plan for this 12-mile extension calls for a three-lane managed
lane concept with moveable median barriers and access points to
and from the freeway at various locations. Moveable median barriers
add flexibility for the future management of the lanes.
The normal pattern for the managed lanes would be two southbound
and one northbound for the morning commute. The afternoon would
be the reverse. In an emergency, all lanes could be configured
in the same direction. The estimated cost is $10 to $15 million
a mile.
ree standard messages. They include: "Express Lanes Closed,"
"Express Lanes Carpools Only," and "Express Lanes
All Traffic OK."
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