Mica on Wednesday reiterated his belief that there is a lucrative middle ground by keeping existing interstate highway lanes toll-free but encouraging public-private partnerships to develop lucrative high-occupancy toll lanes like those being built on the Capital Beltway in Virginia.
The real way to make an H.O.V. lane work, he says, is to eliminate regular lanes, increase the number of occupants required to enter the H.O.V. lane, and then charge those single-occupant cars, forced into slow-moving lanes, tolls.
The work is as part of a project that also calls for new lanes, tolled express lanes, auxiliary lanes and direct express connectors from the northbound 15 to the westbound 91 and from the eastbound 91 to the southbound 15. .
The middle segment of the six-lane toll highway between Georgia Avenue and Route 29 was predicted to cost $410 million to $460 million, according to documents on the project's Web site.
In 1984, the Commonwealth of Virginia opened a 12-mile four-lane toll road sandwiching the airport access highway, mostly for commuter use.
San Onofre is California's fifth-most-popular state park, but a proposed six-lane toll road would cross near the campground.
Because part of the six-lane toll road would cross the San Mateo Creek watershed, Surfrider believes, citing engineering studies, that concrete for the road would restrict sediment flow and eventually weaken waves at Trestles.
Work on the six-lane toll bridge, linking Runcorn and Widnes, is due to be finished by 2017.
The Mersey Gateway project, to build a six-lane toll bridge between Runcorn and Widnes, was approved in October.
The six-lane toll bridge, linking Runcorn and Widnes, is intended to ease congestion on Silver Jubilee Bridge.
