Some practical tips about driving the new 95 Express Lanes in Virginia

The first week of tolling on the 95 Express Lanes was a good chance to test the new system, but drivers won't really begin to know how it's working until more commuters get back from their holidays.

Starting this month, we should learn some lessons about whether carpoolers are adapting to life with the E-ZPass Flex transponder and whether solo drivers are willing to pay the tolls. Watch also to see the effect on travel in the regular lanes of Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia.

The first week did yield some clues that may be helpful in 2015.

Driving within the lanes is a fairly standard highway experience. By contrast, the 495 Express Lanes on the Capital Beltway required drivers to get comfortable with all the entries and exits on the left side and the little white posts on the right dividing the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes from the regular Beltway traffic.

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It’s the highway signs that present the greatest challenge in the I-95 version of the express lanes. The lighted signs that display the tolls to various destinations may not show the rate to your final destination.

For example, when I entered the lanes just north of Garrisonville Road in Stafford County, I could see the toll as far as “I-95 644” (Old Keene Mill Road). A driver going all the way north, to the express lanes terminus just north of the Beltway, will need to watch for a second set of lighted message boards displaying the tolls for the rest of the route.

If that’s too much, there’s a chance to exit back to the regular lanes before entering the second segment. (Southbound, there are three tolling segments.)

Also, there are lots of directional signs. Some point to destinations reachable directly from the express lanes, while others indicate exits reachable after getting back into the regular lanes.

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The most critical signs are the ones that will warn northbound commuters that the express lanes are about to end. This is where they can either continue into the HOV3 lanes that go on up to the 14th Street bridge or exit into the regular lanes of I-395. At rush hours, when the HOV3 rules are enforced, drivers who don’t meet the rules will need to exit.

You won’t see big red lights flashing at you. The two that got my attention on a northbound trip were black-and-white signs that read: “EXPRESS LANES END, 1-1/2 MILES,” and “ALL LANES, HOV 3+ ONLY BEGINS 1-1/2 MILES, 6-9 AM MON-FRI.”

The express lanes reverse direction, just as they did in HOV days, to accommodate the rush-hour flow, and the schedule is familiar to drivers in the I-95/395 corridor: On weekdays, the lanes are completely closed from approximately midnight to 2 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (This is so they can be safely cleared of traffic and the ramp gates can be lowered or raised.) They are open to northbound traffic from 2 to 11 a.m. and to southbound traffic from 1 p.m. to midnight.

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On Saturdays, they are scheduled to be open southbound from midnight to 2 p.m., closed from 2 to 4 p.m. and open northbound after that. On Sundays, they are open northbound all day. Times are approximate because it sometimes may take longer to accomplish the lane reversal.

If you’re new at this, and you become aware that you’ve had some problem with the tolling system, don’t stew about it. Contact the express lanes customer service office right away.

Go to expresslanes.com or call 855-495-XPRS (9777) or send an e-mail to customercare
@expresslanes.com .

According to the 95 Express Lanes, the customer service center will work with new customers on a one-time fee removal from toll bills and will answer questions on how to properly use the lanes.

And speaking of navigation, there are some new things to learn about virtual trips: When the express lanes began tolling Monday, the operator’s Web site went through a dramatic revision. If you looked at it before tolling started, you will want to look again, particularly for the “On the Road Now” information, which shows current conditions and tolls.

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You also can find “Historic Rates” — though at this point, history goes back only to Dec. 29. This will give you some idea of what tolls are like at various times of day, but the rates are likely to rise as commuters come back from holidays and add traffic to I-95.

There's a great deal of new information on the site, addressing many specific questions travelers have asked in the past few weeks, but it may take some searching before you find it.

I’ll continue addressing your many questions about the lanes and about the new issues that are bound to arise this month.

Dr. Gridlock also appears Thursday in Local Living. Comments and questions are welcome and may be used in a column, along with the writer’s name and home community. Write Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, or e-mail

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