All you need to knowabout the lanes,
The debut of revisible lanes in South Florida is scheduled forMarch. Because the lanes are so unusual, officials are planning an educational campaign about them. Here’s what you need to know:
Q: What will prevent drivers fromgoing the wrong way?
Warning lights and overhead message signs will say when the reversible lanes are open or closed. Aseries of gates will close off the lanes to prevent cars from entering the wrongway. The first three to four gates can be broken through before drivers reach a final locked- downsteel arm meant to stop a vehicle.
Q: Whocan use the reversible lanes?
The lanes are open to all motor vehicles, including large trucks. But you need SunPass to use them.
Q: Howmuch will the tolls be?
Fluctuating from50 cents to $ 2, depending on congestion.
Q: Whenwill they be open?
Eastbound, 4 a. m. to 1 p. m. Monday through Friday. Westbound, 2 p. m. to 2 a. m. Monday through Friday. Onweekends, eastbound all day. The lanes will be closed for maintenance from1 to 2 p. m. weekdays and from2 a. m. to 4 a. m. nightly.
Q: Where can I enter and exit?
Eastbound drivers will enterwest of 136thAvenue and exit either to Florida’s Turnpike or continue east to I- 95. Westbound drivers will enterwest of I- 95 or fromthe turnpike and exit after 136thAvenue before the I- 75/ Sawgrass interchange.
Q: What is the speed limit?
70 mph in the reversible lanes, 65 mph in the free lanes.
Q: I can’t use the reversible lanes because of where the entrances are located. Howdo drivers in the free lanes benefit?
The reversible lanes are designed tomove longdistance commuters, not drivers only traveling a few exits. Long- distance drivers who use them should free up capacity in the free lanes.
Q: Whois charged?
Everyone, including hybrids, motorcycles and carpools.
Q: Where are tolls deducted?
Atoll gantry east of Flamingo Road. No cash is allowed.
Q: Howwill emergency vehicles access the reversible lanes without driving to the entrance on either end?
There are five emergency access gates— threewestbound and two eastbound. The gates can be opened remotely or cranked open on- site. Smaller gates will block the shoulders of the reversible lanes ahead of the emergency access gates so emergency vehicles can enter without having to merge with traffic already in the lanes.
Q: Howmuch money will the tolls generate?
Up to $ 6 million in the first full year of operation, with the money used to repay the project’s construction cost and an express bus service. By 2035, officials say the lanes will raise up to $ 21 million a year.
Q: Howwide are the reversible lanes?
The standard width of 12- foot travel lanes and 10- foot shoulders.
Q: Howmuch traffic is expected to use the reversible lanes?
About 23,000 to 28,000 commuters a day. I- 595 currentlymoves about 206,000 vehicles a day in its busiest stretchwest of the turnpike.
Q: Howmuchwas spent to build the lanes?
About a third of the $ 1.2 billion cost to rebuild I- 595 was spent on the reversible lanes.
Q: I- 595was built with taxpayer money. Howcan they charge tolls in the reversible lanes?
Congress OK’d it in 2005. Regular highway lanes cannot be converted to toll lanes. But states have gotten
around that by converting carpool lanes into toll lanes or building new lanes, which can be tolled.
Q: Arewe the only place with reversible lanes on an interstate?
No, they exist on I- 5 in Seattle, I- 15 north of San Diego, I- 64 inNorfolk, Va., I- 70 in St. Louis, I- 93 in Boston, I- 95 and I- 395 in Washington, D. C., and Chicago’sKennedy Expressway ( I- 90 and I- 94). In Florida, Tampa’s Lee Roy Selmon Expressway has reversible lanes on a bridge above the free lanes.