Rush-hour commuters driving solo in Interstate 25’s “HOT lanes” later this year will pay a $3.25 peak-hour toll for the 6.6-mile stretch, officials said Tuesday.
In a briefing for RTD directors, Colorado Tolling Enterprise director Peggy Catlin unveiled a pricing schedule for the new pay-as-you-go lanes that also includes tolls as low as 50 cents.
Vehicles with more than one occupant can continue to use the lanes at no charge.
The I-25 toll operation involves the conversion of high- occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes into “high-occupancy toll” lanes that allow solo drivers to buy their way into the two HOV lanes.
Tolling on the limited stretch of I-25 between U.S. 36 and downtown Denver is expected to begin by the end of the year.
Critics have called them “Lexus lanes,” claiming they favor wealthier commuters who can easily afford to pay to avoid congestion.
But Catlin told Regional Transportation District officials that surveys show commuters of all income levels use the carpool lanes when they need to get somewhere fast.
The I-25 project will require all users of the HOT lanes to have electronic toll-reading transponders – even carpooling commuters who will use the lanes for free.
There will be no toll booths on the project. Tolls will be read automatically as vehicles zip under the electronic readers. To avoid having a toll assessed, carpools will travel in a special lane under the toll reader, Catlin said. Single-occupant vehicles will be in the other lane, where tolls will be registered.
Violators who try to avoid the toll would face two citations – one for a tolling infraction and the other for abusing HOV rules.
“We want to make it as onerous as possible for cheaters,” Catlin said.
The HOT lane project is the state authority’s first tolling venture. The authority also is studying new toll lanes for Interstate 70 east of the Mousetrap; Interstate 225 from Parker Road to I-70; Interstate 270; C-470; and other highway corridors.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
