$40 toll in DC area makes us appreciate what we have

Q

Did you see the stories about the Express Lane tolls in Virginia? — Lew Kurtz Sunnyvale

A

I most certainly did and what an eye-opener. Tolls on the Interstate 66 Express Lanes feeding into Washington, D.C., reached $40 for a 10-mile drive earlier this month.

That’s no typo. An amazing 40 bucks and it consistently hits $30 or more during the peak of rush hour.

By comparison, tolls on a similar distance on Interstate 580 in the East Bay can run $13 for a similar trip. Seems cheap, eh?

Q

We have been good little commuters all year. Please be our Santa Claus and ask Caltrans to try to ease the suddenly Grinchy situation during the evening commute created by construction at the Highway 101-Willow Road interchange in Menlo Park. — Eve Carlson

A

Here’s one idea ...

Q

I take the southbound Willow exit to the Dumbarton Bridge. With the changes there, I wonder why they have two lanes turning left toward Palo Alto and only one turning toward Facebook and the Dumbarton. This isn’t solving much with the one lane spilling onto a long queue onto 101 south. Can they make the middle lane turn both ways? — Shefali Bhargava

A

Not likely to happen. Caltrans says under your idea if just one car wants to turn left — and many of them want to — then all the right turners behind that vehicle will be delayed. The advantage to right turners will be minimal, while the frustration level that is already high at the Willow overpass will be greatly increased.

Q

Why did they activate the traffic signals at the Berryessa BART station entrance on Mabury Road as there is no traffic yet going into or coming out of the BART parking lot? We sit at long red lights waiting for the phantom left turners to go into the BART lot. People are going through red lights because the wait is so long. — W.S.K.

A

The VTA is testing the signals, but the video detection camera for the driveway was malfunctioning, which caused the delay along Mabury. The camera was replaced recently so your wait should ease.

Q

Regarding the distance you can drive a vehicle with an expired license and registration — you can get a permit to move an unregistered vehicle, but you have to do it in advance. I got one to move an unregistered car from one storage lot to another. It was easy and free but did require a visit to the DMV. — Jonathan Sede, Palo Alto

A

Thanks for the tip.

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