Gridlock Guy: Here’s what the $10 HOT rate means | www.ajc.com

The infamous Interstate 85 HOT Express lanes have been both groundbreaking and controversial in their three-year existence. They hit a new milestone last week, as the full southbound trip on I-85 took $10 from Old Peachtree Road to Shallowford Road for the first time.

SRTA has found the need to increase prices in the HOT lanes to at least $10 at the worst times of morning drive on I-85/southbound, meaning that demand for those lanes is likely more than ever. That is yet another indicator that traffic these days is as bad or worse than it ever has been in Atlanta. So keeping those HOT lanes moving at a reasonable speed is harder and harder.

We fly over those lanes every weekday and examine them on traffic cameras – they often are not much faster than the free lanes. But enough people are buying (literally) into the idea that they are and paying dollars to shave precious minutes off of their commutes.

Georgia’s transportation funding conundrum is another big reason the HOT rates continue to increase. SRTA and the GDOT added those lanes on I-85 to, yes, try and alleviate traffic, by making the HOV lane accessible to anyone willing to pay. But the bigger reason is because they need the money for Georgia’s roads.

Transportation funding is a huge question for Georgia’s future and GDOT and Georgia lawmakers need answers quickly. They have made no secret that managed toll lanes on major highways are a big step into to trying to make up for the budget money lost to declining revenue from the gas tax (more fuel efficient cars) and the ever-eroding transportation budget.

via Gridlock Guy: Here’s what the $10 HOT rate means | www.ajc.com.