Toll lanes could be headed to a Sacramento freeway. Here’s how they would work

As traffic worsens on Interstate 80 between Sacramento and the Bay Area, regional and state planners are considering adding lanes to the freeway and designating some lanes as “toll lanes” to speed up the ride.

Toll lanes are used in Southern California and the Bay Area. So how would they work here?

Currently, Caltrans is exploring building toll lanes on Interstate 80 from Sacramento through Yolo and Solano counties - including over the Yolo Causeway. That project could be underway in 2023. The state transportation agency also will consider turning carpool lanes on Interstate 5 in Sacramento and on other local freeways into toll lanes.

The toll concept is used throughout the country and is becoming more frequent in the Bay Area, which launched its toll or express lane program in 2011 and now has 75 miles of express lanes on several freeways, notably on I-580, where 82,000 daily commuters travel from the Central Valley into the Bay Area.

The toll lanes are typically in operation weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. During other hours, they are available to all drivers. Those lanes are also used for free at any time by carpools, van pools, motorcycles, buses and certain clean-air vehicles.

So far, most of the toll lanes in the Bay Area are existing lanes that were converted from being previous bus and carpool lanes. But, in an effort to extend the lanes further, transportation planners there plan to build new multi-purpose express lanes over time.

“We plan an extensive network to improve freeway operations, and particularly to improve carpool lane operations,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman John Goodman said. “We’ve seen the express lanes have been effective in making the entire freeway operate more efficiently.”

By allowing more cars in the express lane, it frees up space in the non-paying lanes, he said.

The price can change every three minutes depending on how heavy traffic is. If traffic is heavy, the price goes up, prompting more people to get out of the lane, keeping it flowing faster. The price is displayed on changeable overhead display boards. Drivers pay via FasTrak accounts.

Drivers with those accounts use a transponder device in their car to wirelessly signal sensors on the freeway when they are in the lane, similar to the transponders in use in FasTrak lanes at Bay Area bridge toll plazas.

Prices average $5 to $6 per commuter during peak hours on the I-680 corridor in Contra Costa County, and under $2 during the non-peak midday hours.

This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 5:00 AM.