I-66 Multimodal Study Final Report - Virginia Department of ...

Recommendationswould address the current issues with use of the facility by non-HOV users, providing a meansto control the level of this usage. As may be seen in Table 4.1, this package increases highwaycongestion (congested VMT increases by 2.8 percent) in absolute terms compared to theBaseline condition. However, as shown in Section 3.0, as a percentage of VMT, the percentageof congested VMT with Multimodal Package 1 is lower than under the Baseline condition. Themobility measure of PMT increases 0.7 percent over the Baseline condition.This package carries the lowest costs of the packages tested. Approximately $29 million incapital expenditures are required to implement tolling and it has been assumed that toll revenuewill, at a minimum, completely offset the cost of operating the tolling system.Approximately $5 million in capital expenditures are necessary to implement the transitprogram included in the package, with an ongoing $23 million per year operating cost. Later inthis section, priorities are offered for bicycle/pedestrian, TDM, and ICM improvements. Thefull complement of these improvements, included in all packages, is estimated to cost as follows:bicycle and pedestrian, $42 million capital; TDM, $5 million per year operating cost; andICM, $6 million capital, $1 million per year operating cost. Toll revenue was estimated for thispackage at a planning level, although the I-66 Multimodal Study was not designed as a trafficand revenue analysis. A conservative estimate of $24 million in annual revenue was calculated,determined solely by multiplying the tolls assumed in the model to maintain the LOS C/Dlevel of traffic on I-66 by the number of non-HOV 3+ vehicles forecast to use the facility.However, as noted above, this is a very preliminary estimate as this study was not designed toprepare detailed financial forecasts.Sensitivity Test 1Sensitivity Test 1, a sensitivity test on Multimodal Package 1, was conducted by changing thetime period during which tolls would be charged. In this alternative, tolls were assumed, inboth directions, only during the morning and evening peak periods. This change improved theperformance with regard to improving mobility, as compared to the 2040 Baseline (daily PMTincreased 5.4 percent), but highway congestion reduction was similar to that of MultimodalPackage 1 (congested VMT increased by 2.9 percent). However, it is important to note that theoriginal forecast for Multimodal Package 1 was not fully refined for the off-peak periods to findthe lowest necessary toll for achieving LOS C/D on I-66. Therefore, the improvement inperformance of the sensitivity test scenario relative to Multimodal Package 1 may beoverstated.The cost of the sensitivity test on Multimodal Package 1 is the same as that of MultimodalPackage 1. Due to the assumed significant reduction in the daily tolling period (from 24 hoursto about 7 hours per day), toll revenues generated by this sensitivity test are less than half thatof Multimodal Package 1, based on the rough calculations described above.Multimodal Package 2Multimodal Package 2, also a HOT facility option, is a variation on Multimodal Package 1 inthat it assumes a third through lane on I-66. As seen in Table 4.1, this package not onlyimproves mobility (increases PMT by 4.6 percent) compared to the Baseline condition, but alsoreduces the absolute level of highway congestion (congested VMT reduces by 17 percent). Theestimated cost to implement this package ranges from $377 million (minimal right-of-wayI-66 Multimodal Study 4-5