Despite more than three decades since the first express toll lanes opened in California, no major U.S. metro area has built these lanes on all feasible highways, according to a new policy brief from Reason Foundation. The report examines express toll lane networks—dynamically priced highway lanes that guarantee reliable travel times—across 15 metropolitan regions and finds that while cities like Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., have added these lanes to at least one major freeway over the past 20 years, the expansion has been limited and uneven. The analysis shows commuters aren't getting the full benefit when they face reliable travel on one highway but stop-and-go traffic on another.
The report catalogs managed lane activities across 15 regions: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C. Each region receives detailed documentation of lanes currently in operation, under construction, and in the planning stages. The first variably priced express lanes opened on State Route 91 in Orange County, California, more than 30 years ago, inspired by a paper written by Reason Foundation's Robert Poole. Since then, transportation agencies have typically implemented these lanes on only one or two highways per region, usually the freeway with the worst congestion. Several factors have slowed expansion, including lack of resources at transportation departments and delays from the environmental review process.
The report describes express toll lanes as grade-separated, limited-access lanes built alongside existing general-purpose lanes, with dynamic tolling that rises or falls based on traffic congestion. According to the analysis, dynamic tolling has been "the most effective way to manage congestion" in major metropolitan areas. The report explains that toll prices rise based on congestion in both general-purpose and managed lanes, which ensures the express lanes provide consistent travel times and maximize vehicle throughput regardless of traffic conditions. Transit vehicles and carpools in some regions can use these lanes free of charge, making service speedier and more reliable while increasing person throughput. On many highways, the report notes, tolls collected on express lanes can provide a significant portion of funds needed to build and maintain them.
The brief argues that traffic congestion in major metros limits economic activity, reduces safety, and robs commuters of personal time, making the case for more aggressive network expansion. State departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations have worked to expand express toll lanes in their regions, but progress has been hampered by resource constraints and regulatory delays. The report makes recommendations for additional express toll lane projects in each of the 15 regions based on projected growth and economic plans. The bottom line: while some pioneering regions have developed robust networks, the lack of complete coverage means drivers still can't count on reliable commute times across their entire journey, limiting the lanes' effectiveness at solving congestion where right-of-way and construction costs would otherwise allow expansion.