Lead Presenter:  Raj Paradkar | Sr. Transportation Practice Builder | Kimley-Horn

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Presentation Description

As part of the development of the Hampton Roads Express Lanes (HREL) Network Project, VDOT evaluated the use of High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes in various segments of the 44+ mile corridor of I-64 from Newport News to Chesapeake, Virginia. A detailed traffic operations and safety analysis was conducted for the entire corridor to study the impact of the HOT Lanes on the flow of traffic along I-64 as well as the corresponding arterials. This research provides the findings of using Part-Time Shoulder Lanes (PTSL) as a component of the HOT/Express lanes on the HREL project. PTSL use is quickly becoming an innovative solution for highly constrained corridors where the need for reliability of travel is critical.
Research on current best practices for design, operations, and safety of PTSLs (also known as part‐time shoulder use or dynamic shoulder lanes) in the US was conducted. A summary of PTSLs currently in operation in the United States is provided, as well as discussions of operations and safety for part-time shoulder use facilities. These facilities represent examples of successfully implemented left-side PTSL, with a couple operating as variably priced lanes. This research also addresses potential substandard design considerations for part-time shoulder use, as well as innovative use of PTSLs to increase capacity in certain segments and converting a right-of-way constrained congested corridor from a reversible HOT Lanes facility to a bi-directional facility.
A detailed microsimulation analysis was conducted using Vissim to evaluate the impacts on speeds and travel times through the corridor. The findings of this research helped with the evolution of the proposed improvements, by providing information to stakeholders on the performance of the general purpose (GP), HOT and HOV lanes, clarifying access and transition points for the HOT lanes, and identify and operational challenges in the corridor. In one segment of the corridor, it was proposed that the PTSL would function as regular shoulders during normal traffic conditions but would serve as an additional drivable HOT lane in each direction during a.m. and p.m. peak periods, when reliability of speeds and travel times in the HOT lanes is critical. In another segment of the corridor the PTSL were proposed to be operational in the opposite direction of the center median reversible HOT lanes – thus providing a bi-directional option of HOT access in the corridor. The findings, lessons learned, opportunities, and challenges from this research study are envisioned for this presentation.

Speaker Biography

Raj Paradkar is a Sr. Transportation Practice Builder in the Reston, Virginia office of Kimley-Horn. Ge has over 23 years of progressive experience in transportation planning and engineering. He specializes in applying innovative approaches to find solutions to complex problems and help clients plan for a rapidly changing transportation landscape. His experience includes working for state departments of transportation, federal agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, aviation authorities in Maryland and Metropolitan Washington, turnpike/toll authorities, and various other local transportation agencies and private sector clients. 

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Co-presenter(s)

Chadi Chazbek
Kimley-horn​​​​​​