Back-Seat Driver: Can toll lanes get I-80 out of its jam?

Has the time come for toll lanes on Sacramento freeways?

The governor's been pushing the concept, and a few toll lanes are operating in Southern California.

But a Caltrans study a few years ago on Highway 50 in our region determined a toll lane would be too expensive to build and not enough drivers would use it.

Now, some Sacramento and Placer officials say they want to know if toll lanes might work on busy Interstate 80.

They hope to launch a feasibility study this spring of a 10-mile toll lane from the Highway 65 junction to the Interstate 5 junction.

The idea was born of desperation among Placer County officials who are trying to fix the infamous I-80 bottleneck through Roseville.

Placer has cobbled together enough money to widen the freeway in part of the bottleneck area. It could take decades, they say, to find money to finish the project.

"The public is not going to stand for us sitting on our hands," said Placer transportation planner Celia McAdam. "We have to be activists."

Her idea: Find a private company to partner with government to finish building high-occupancy vehicle (carpool) lanes on I-80 in Placer and Sacramento, but pay for it by morphing them into High Occupancy Toll – or HOT – lanes.

HOT lanes generally are free to carpoolers and buses, while single- occupant cars use them for a fee.

Those fees change throughout the day. If the lane is uncrowded, a single-occupant vehicle may pay a small amount.

During rush hour, single drivers would have to pay a higher fee. Tolls on Highway 91 in Orange County now peak at about $10.

There are plenty of questions.

Will many I-80 drivers be willing to pay extra to go a little faster for what amounts to a short distance?

Who will operate the lane? How much should they charge? Will there be enough profit for a private company to participate?

Do you build a barrier between the toll lane and other lanes to keep non-paying drivers out?

McAdam of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency is pitching the idea. She said she doesn't know if toll lanes are the way to go, but they ought to be studied.

"We have to be creative," she said. "If we don't have the funding to build these lanes, everyone loses."

Lincoln City Council member Tom Cosgrove, a member of McAdam's transportation board, has mixed feelings.

Cosgrove is among those who view toll lanes as "Lexus lanes" mainly for wealthier people.

People definitely will use them, at least on some days, he said.

"It's about time and the value people put on their time," he said. "Everybody is in a hurry today."

The Environmental Council of Sacramento, which opposes carpool lanes, hasn't looked enough at the idea to have an opinion yet, ECOS' Eric Davis said.

Ultimately, the state Department of Transportation will have to agree to the idea. It's their freeway. Local Caltrans officials have said in the past that toll lanes don't seem to pencil out yet for Sacramento, but say the possibility is worth a relook.

Planning chief Wayne Lewis said Friday Caltrans will help out with the planned feasibility study for I-80.

"We need to look at all different options to make sure we optimize the (freeway) system," Lewis said.

Sacramento and Placer officials have applied for a federal grant to pay for the study, and expect to hear next month.

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