Considerations for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lane Conversions Guidebook

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Printable Version (PDF 2.2 MB)
Contact Information: Operations Feedback at OperationsFeedback@dot.gov

Prepared for the

HOV Pooled-Fund Study
and the
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

Prepared by

HNTB
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
8283 Greensboro Drive
McLean, VA 22102

Under contract to
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

June 2007

Printable Version [PDF 2.10 MB]
Contact Information: Operations Feedback at OperationsFeedback@dot.gov.

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NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or the use thereof.

The contents of this Report reflect the views of the contractor, who is responsible for the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Department of Transportation.

This Report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers named herein. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the objective of this document.

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Technical Page

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Acknowledgements

This document was prepared by HNTB and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and received extensive comment from the HOV Pooled Fund Study (PFS) Group.

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1. Introduction and Overview

1.1 What are High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes?

1.1.1 HOT Lane Characteristics and Applications

1.2 Purpose of the High Occupancy Toll Lane Guidebook

1.3 Study Approach/Methodology

CHAPTER 2. High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Policy and Planning

2.1 Baseline Performance Framework for High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

2.2 Understanding the Effects of Converting an HOV Lane to HOT Lane

2.2.1 Shifts from HOV to LOV and from LOV to HOV

2.2.2 Shifts from other Routes and Times

2.2.3 Second-order Effects and Long-Run Equilibrium

2.3 Key Planning and Policy Criteria

2.3.1 Legal and Institutional Challenges

2.3.2 Building Support for HOT Lanes

2.3.3 Application of Project Development Approach

2.3.4 Unique Project Risks/Challenges

2.4 Project Financing

CHAPTER 3. HOT Lane Implementation and Design

3.1 Organization and Management

3.1.1 Participation

3.1.2 Organization and Management Plan

3.2 Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

3.3 Procurement Strategies

3.4 Procurement Options

3.4.1 Procurement Sequencing

3.5 Procurement, Implementation and Construction Issues

3.6 HOT Lane System Design

3.6.1 Geometric Requirements

CHAPTER 4. HOT Lane Operations and Management

4.1 Lane Management

4.2 Toll Collection Operations

4.2.1 Transponder and AVI Technology

4.2.2 Video Tolling

4.2.3 System Operations

4.3 HOT Lane Enforcement

4.3.1 Concept of Operations

4.3.2 Facility Design Considerations

4.3.3 HOT Lane Enforcement Functions

4.3.4 Recent Experience with HOT Lane Enforcement

4.3.5 Best Practices in HOT Lane Enforcement

4.4 Signage

4.5 Incident Management

CHAPTER 5. CASE STUDIES OF HOT LANE CONVERSION PROJECTS

5.1 Data Collection Approach

5.2 Focused Interviews

5.3 San Diego, CA I-15 Express Lanes

5.3.1 Project Objectives

5.3.2 Concept of Operations

5.3.3 Innovative Project Features

5.3.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

5.3.5 Major Lesson Learned

5.3.6 Keys to Project Success

5.4 Minneapolis, MN I-394 Express Lanes

5.4.1 Project Objectives

5.4.2 Concept of Operations

5.4.3 Innovative Project Features

5.4.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

5.4.5 Major Lesson Learned

5.4.6 Keys to Project Success

5.5 Denver, CO I-25 Express Lanes

5.5.1 Project Objectives

5.5.2 Concept of Operations

5.5.3 Innovative Project Features

5.5.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

5.5.5 Major Lesson Learned

5.5.6 Keys to Project Success

CHAPTER 6. Direction for Future Practice

6.1 Best Practices

6.1.1 Project Pre-Planning and System Planning

6.1.2 System Design

6.1.3 Project Financing

6.1.4 Implementation

6.1.5 Operations and Management

6.2 Lessons Learned

6.3 Direction for Future Practice

6.3.1 Legislative

6.3.2 Electronic and Video Toll Payment

6.3.3 Enforcement

6.3.4 Occupancy Enforcement

List of Acronyms

References

List Of Tables

Table 3—1: Managed Lane Cross-section Standards

Table 3—2: Operational Impacts of Physical Design Options

Table 4—1: Lane Management Control Strategies

Table 5—1: Facility Characteristics

Table 5—2: Operational Characteristics

List Of Figures

Figure 2—1: Effects From Converting to HOT lanes

Figure 2—2: Public Outreach Model Used at MnPass

Figure 2—3: Sketch Development Approach

Figure 3—1: Stages of HOT Lane Project Development

Figure 3—2: Benefits vs. Risks

Figure 3—3: Access Control Diagram for MnPass

Figure 3—4: MnPass Variable Message Sign

Figure 4—1: Enforcement equipment used in MnPass

Figure 4—2: Sample HOT Signage

Figure 4—3: Sample HOT Lane Signage

Figure 5—1: Location of Hot Lane Case Studies

Metric conversion chart

SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors

Approximate Conversions to SI Units

	Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length	in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
	ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
	yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
	mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
Area	in²	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm²
	ft²	square feet	0.093	square meters	m²
	yd²	square yards	0.836	square meters	m²
	ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
	mi²	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km²
Volume	fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	ml
	gal	gallons	3.785	liters	l
	ft³	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m³
	yd³	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m³
Mass	oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
	lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
	T	short tons (2,000 lbs)	0.907	megagrams	Mg
Temperature (Exact)	°F	Fahrenheit temperature	5(F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius temperature	°C
Illumination	fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
	fl	foot-lamberts	3.426	candela/m²	cd/m²
Force and Pressure or Stress	lbf	pound-force	4.45	newtons	N
	psi	pound-force per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

 

Approximate Conversions from SI Units

	Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length	mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
	m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
	m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
	km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
Area	mm²	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in²
	m²	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft²
	m²	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd²
	ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
	km²	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi²
Volume	ml	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
	l	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
	m³	cubic meters	35.71	cubic feet	ft³
	m³	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd³
Mass	g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
	kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
	Mg	megagrams	1.103	short tons (2,000 lbs)	T
Temperature (Exact)	°C	Celsius temperature	1.8 C + 32	Fahrenheit temperature	°F
Illumination	lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
	cd/m²	candela/m²	0.2919	foot-lamberts	fl
Force and Pressure or Stress	N	newtons	0.225	pound-force	lbf
	kPa	kilopascals	0.145	pound-force per square inch	psi

 

* SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be done to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. Back to text.

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U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov

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June 2007
Publication #FHWA-HOP-08-034