What are Express Lanes?
Express Lanes are designated highway lanes designed to increase roadway capacity to offer drivers a faster and more reliable commute option during peak periods. Express lanes are built in addition to general-purpose lanes to help road authorities manage traffic more efficiently and alleviate congestion. Express lanes can be high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, or an alternative for solo drivers willing to pay a toll to bypass congestion. Toll agencies can also rely on dynamic pricing to maintain free-flowing travel and manage the express lanes.
Express Lanes Operational Challenges
Agencies face several challenges as part of express lanes closure operations:
- Safety concerns for workers and responders
- Impact on peak period performance caused by motorist violations during active road closures
- Labor intensive and time consuming
- Limited access for emergency vehicles responding to incidents
Benefits of Automated Express Lane Closures
Road authorities are implementing automated road closures using Versilis traffic gates and signs to:
- Create a safe environment for both first responders and road workers
- Physically prevent motorists from entering the express lanes
- Close and reopen express lanes faster with fully automated operations
- Maintain free flow conditions (>45mph) to improve trip reliability
- Reduce prolonged maintenance of traffic operations
- Reduce traffic control costs and improve staff resources deployment
- Increase motorist compliance with highly visible gates and advance warning signage
- Increase emergency vehicle safety when accessing the express lanes
Is your agency looking for solutions to improve the safety and efficiency of your express lane operations?
Versilis is proud to support road authorities in their efforts to enhance worker and motorist safety while improving the efficiency of maintenance operations and traffic incident management.
Learn how agencies across the United States have improved their express lane operations in partnership with Versilis by visiting our project pages.
