Md. and Va. to Study Beltway Toll Lanes

"We've tried looking at a referendum approach, we've tried tax reform and we had a transportation component that didn't get included," said Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D). "Folks in the national capital area want action, and HOT lanes are a way to add capacity."

Warner said the close coordination with Maryland was designed in part to ensure that the idea does not fade when he leaves office in January or whenever a new administration takes over in Annapolis.

"I want to make sure this is far enough down the pike that nobody can unwind this," he said after a regional summit in Annapolis with Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).

Maryland transportation officials are studying express toll lanes on the rest of the Beltway.

Detractors worry that the lanes are too expensive for low-income drivers -- the estimated cost of a ride in the I-95/395 corridor, for example, is about $13 -- and some say toll lanes amount to double taxation. Carpoolers have come out against the I-95 plan over fears that it will ruin the popular practice of "slugging," in which drivers and riders form spontaneous carpools.

Despite the coordination between Maryland and Virginia, several significant issues remain. Virginia has joined with private firms to finance its HOT lanes, and Maryland officials have not decided how to proceed.

Disagreement over financing methods could make it difficult to build lanes that would run across state lines, because splitting the projects at the border could make them less enticing for investors.

Also, the two states must agree on whether Metrorail or highway lanes make more sense on the Wilson Bridge. Adding rail would leave no space for toll lanes. Rail supporters said they were pleased that the states would study building Metro over the bridge, but said they were concerned that the rush to build express toll lanes elsewhere would lead officials in the region to follow suit.

"HOT lanes themselves are not going to solve everything," said Laura Olsen of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Officials said that, even though the studies are coordinated, each state could adopt its own format without slowing drivers. For instance, if carpoolers rode free in Virginia, they would simply be charged a toll like everyone else once they crossed into Maryland.

"Technology used on one side of the bridge will go for naught unless the appropriate technology is on the other side of the bridge," Ehrlich said.