![]() ![]() "There may be a grace period during which we give verbal warnings," said CHP Sgt. Citations start at $381 and vary by city and county. They'll be outfitted with special devices that can read FasTrak transponders. Officers will then look to see if the car has any passengers, and if it doesn't, will pull the offending vehicle over. Four special enforcement areas have been set up where CHP officers will be able to view amber lights that flash when someone fails to pay a toll. But they will get used to the new configuration, and we will work with them." Enforcing the rulesīut the California Highway Patrol also will ticket those who sneak into the lanes or enter without a FasTrak transponder or any passengers. ![]() "Folks may be a little confused at first," Haggerty said. ![]() They will be marked with signs and special striping. Exits will be just past Auto Mall Parkway, just past Jacklin Road, and at the end of the lane south of Highway 237. Drivers will not be allowed to cross the double-white lines and must enter and exit only at the designated spots.Įntries will be at the start of the lane, 1 mile south of Highway 84, just past Mission Boulevard in Fremont and just past Auto Mall Parkway. In addition to the double-white lines, they will create three entry and three exit points along the route. Only a pair of solid white lines, creating a 2-foot buffer zone, will separate the express lane from other traffic.Ĭaltrans crews will be at work all week on I-680 restriping the carpool lane. The 680 express lane will differ from the other California lanes in that it will not have a solid barrier or a row of plastic stakes marking its boundaries. Express lanes also are used in the Houston, Denver, Miami and Minneapolis areas. How it worksĬombined carpool-and-toll lanes may be new to the Bay Area, but they've been in use for a decade in San Diego on Interstate 15 and in Orange and Riverside counties on Highway 91. "Over time, this will become the norm in the nine-county Bay Area," said Scott Haggerty, an Alameda County supervisor and chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional transportation planning and financing agency. Eventually, according to regional transportation plans, an 800-mile network of express lanes will ring the bay and crisscross the region. More express lanes are coming soon - to Interstate 580 in the Tri-Valley and the Interstate 880/Highway 237 connection in San Jose next year. While the 680 express lane is just a 14-mile stretch of freeway in one direction, from Highway 84 in Sunol to Highway 237 in Milpitas, it is only the beginning. Toll amounts will be displayed on signs before the express lane entrances. Express lane officials estimate that cost will average $4 to $6. Tolls, all of which will be collected electronically from FasTrak transponders by overhead antennas, will range from a minimum of 30 cents when traffic in the other lanes is light to a maximum of whatever it takes to keep traffic flowing at 50 mph or faster. on weekdays, solo drivers who pay a fluctuating toll can join carpools of two or more in the fast lane. They will give drivers a 1-mile advance warning of the lane's start and announce the new rules of the road. ![]()
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