Drivers will encounter traffic signals at the Westpark bridge and at the merge ramps leading to and from the HOT lanes on the Beltway. (HOT traffic in the through lanes on the Beltway is not controlled by these signals. Only the traffic on the ramps leading to the through lanes will stop and go with the signals.)
Jones Branch Road: This farthest-north access point in Tysons also will be entirely new. Drivers leaving Tysons on Jones Branch Road will be able to travel north or south in the HOT lanes. Drivers will be able to exit onto Jones Branch from the northbound or southbound HOT lanes. This access point is likely to serve traffic for shopping and offices north of Route 123, where drivers now rely on International Drive and Tysons Boulevard to connect with the Beltway via Route 123.
As with Westpark Drive, drivers using the new connection will encounter traffic signals. They will be at Jones Branch Drive and at the point where drivers enter the merge lanes leading to HOT lanes.
Beltway/Dulles Toll Road
Just north of the Jones Branch Road access point into Tysons is the most northerly of all the HOT lanes project’s interchanges, providing new links between the Dulles Toll Road (Route 267) and the Beltway. Commuters who travel east on the toll road have endured as much as drivers anywhere along the project corridor during the construction phase.
The second lane on the ramp from the eastbound toll road to the inner loop was restored last week, ahead of schedule.
When all the work is done next year, the HOT connections will function like this: Drivers heading east on Route 267 will be able to connect with the southbound HOT lanes. They will come up very quickly on the Jones Branch Road access point into Tysons. Drivers heading west on Route 267 will not be able to connect with the HOT lanes. Drivers heading north or south on the HOT lanes will be able to connect with westbound Route 267.
The road ahead
The HOT lanes project is different from anything the D.C. region has seen and will take a lot of explaining before drivers use them. Among other things, drivers will need to understand how the toll transponders work, how the tolling system works and — just out of curiosity — how any cheaters will be caught.
We’ll address such concerns on future Commuter pages in 2012. If you have questions you’d like to see addressed, please e-mail drgridlock@washpost.com.
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