Dec 4, 2008 11:37 pm US/Eastern
Free Ride On I-95 Express Lanes Ends Friday
I-95 Express Lanes Experiment With Tolls In Miami-Dade
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Brighter orange delineator poles were placed to separate the express lanes on I-95, but some drivers are still taking on some dangerous driving. Here a gray Range Rover can be seen cutting in front of another Range Rover, barely missing the delineators.
CBS
Commuters who have been enjoying a free ride in the new I-95 Express lanes will have to starting paying the toll on Friday, but how much it will cost will depend on the amount of traffic in those lanes.
Termed "congestion tolling" the Florida Department of Transportation said the amount of the toll on the SunPass only lanes will be determined by the amount of traffic.
"You're going to be required to have a Sun Pass in your vehicles to use those lanes," said Lt. Pat Santangelo with the Florida Highway Patrol. "The tolls will be charged in conjunction with how much traffic is on the roadway."
If traffic is light and things are moving smoothly, the toll could be as low as 25 cents. If traffic is backed up, drivers who take the express lanes could have to pay as much as $6.20 in tolls -- a sum that shocks most drivers.
"Wow, this is no good for me no good," said cab driver Andre Trendade
"Oh my goodness. I don't think that's fair because we can't control the rate of traffic," said driver Johnnie Walker.
The 8-mile express lanes, which extend from downtown Miami to the Golden Glades interchange, are free to registered hybrid cars, motorcycles, buses and registered car pools with three or more people inside.
Click Here to register or find out more about the new express lanes.
The new tolls, which go into effect at 6 a.m., could also cause confusion during the morning rush. When FDOT introduced them, things did not go smoothly. Drivers weaved in and out of the plastic dividers, many causing accidents along the route. Since then, the state has installed more plastic dividers to prevent drivers from weaving and a lot more signs to direct them.
Yet some drivers are still concerned that Friday's introduction of tolls could send everything back into a tailspin.
"They might not know at the time that the tolls are in effect and then panic and then try to come out of the lane," said driver Tom Dell. "They put the stoppers a little closer together now to try to keep people from coming in and out which was something they corrected so hopefully it'll flow."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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