hot lanes on i-77

HOT Lanes on I-77More Questions Than Answers

Feb 22, 2013

The Problem

Congestedstretch of four lane road from exit 23 to

exit 36

The Latest GP Lane Estimate

Four lanes from 23- 28; two from 28- 31: ~$75M

Source: “I-77 HOT Discussion with Cornelius Town Board”, email from Bill Coxe to Andrew Grant, Oct. 10, 2012

A ballpark cost for two GP lanes from exit 23 to exit 36:

$80- $130M

The Current HOT Lane Proposal

Source: “I-77 HOT Lanes Project Overview NCSITE Lunch N’ Learn”, August 21, 2012; “I-77 Widening Update”, MUMPO (Bill Coxe), Sept 19, 2012; “Billions invested in Roads”, Charlotte Observer, Jan 14, 2013

27.5 Miles of HOT Lanes

Cost: $550 Million

GP vs HOT

HOTGP

27.5 Miles

$550M

13 Miles

$80- 130M (est)

Cost Breakdown -$M

Source: “Billions invested in Roads”, Charlotte Observer, Jan 14, 2013

$170

$380

Public

Private

HOT Lane Funding- Public*

Source: NCDOT

State FederalState Mobility 28CMAQ 1 12NHPP 13 117

Total 42 128

Source ($M)

*Maximum contribution of public funds

Mobility Funding

Source: “Mobility Fund Project Scoring,” NCDOT, 2012

I-77 GP Lanes- 20pts less, but still ~#4 out of 95 projects (top 5%)

I-77 GP Lanes Still A Good Candidate for Mobility Funds

HOT Lane Funding- Federal

Source: NCDOT

State FederalState Mobility 28CMAQ 1 12NHPP 13 117

Total 42 128

Source ($M)

Looking at the largest bucket of money…

From the NCDOT- Part I

Q: Do GP lanes qualify for NHPP funding?

A:“Building general purpose lanes on I-77 would be an eligible expenditure of NHPP funds.”

Source: NCDOT

From the NCDOT- Part II

Q: “Is there some advantage to obtaining funding for HOT lanes vs GP lanes under NHPP?”

A:”There are many factors that would be included in an analysis to determine whether it is better to build general purpose lanes or HOT lanes.  The type of funding (funding source) would not be one of them.”

Source: NCDOT

From the NCDOT- Part III

Q: “Does Federal funding (NHPP) receive a higher priority due to HOT lanes?”

A:”Each state is appropriated a specific amount of NHPP funding. ...we are going to get the same amount of NHPP from the feds funding regardless of what projects we build.  The feds play no part in the selection process for projects that use NHPP funding.”

Source: NCDOT

So Federal Funds are NOT tied to HOT lanes!

A Recent $1B Road…

• Triangle Expressway•First toll road in NC•Connects Durham to Holly Springs

•Initial traffic project: 20K VPD

•Actual traffic: 6K VPD

Source: Hartgen & Associates

HOT Lanes and Congestion

HOT lanes rely on congestion

“Congestion Pricing” means more congestion = more toll revenue

HOT Lanes & Congestion- County

HOT lanes are expected to have “minimal impact to the travel

speed in the existing general purpose lanes.”

Source: “Comments on Environmental Documents for TIP Projects I-3311 C and I-4750 HOT”, MUMPO memo dated October 4, 2012

HOT Lanes & Congestion- State

Source: “Managed Lanes: More than a Revenue Tool”, Parsons Brinkerhoff, 2013

For the long term, “congestion returns only to the general

purpose lanes.”

HOT Lanes and Congestion - Federal

“No one wants congestion in the GP lanes. So the express lane

provides an option, not a full solution. Indeed, if congestion in the GP lanes ever dissolves, than

(sic) the incentive to use an express lane would dissolve too.”

Source: FHWA, Feb 4, 2013

HOT Lanes Do Not Relieve Congestion- They Ensure It

HOT Lanes & the Future

Unplanned Revenue Impacting Facility

Compensation Event

Physical Constraint

Source: “I-77 HOT Lane Project Discussion with Cornelius Town Board”, email from Bill Coxe to Andrew Grant, October 15, 2012

HOT Lanes on I-77 for 50 years…

Some Existing HOT LanesCA 91 ORANGE COUNTY

I 15 SAN DIEGO

I85 ATLANTA

US 290 HOUSTON

I-77 HOT Lanes

Mooresville

Davidson

Cornelius

Huntersville

Combined Population:

~150,000

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010

Economic Burden

Approx Population Supporting One Mile of HOT Lane

People

(Thou

sand

s)

LKN Citizens Bear >15x the Burden of Other HOT Lanes

Source: “A Guide for HOT Lane Development,” FHA, 2003

150

115

8575

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

SR 91 US 290 I-85 I-15 I-77

HOT Lane Revenues

Source: “Managed Lanes: More than a Revenue Tool”, Parsons Brinkerhoff, 2013

Estimated Required Revenue for I-77 HOT Lanes: $25-30M

I-15 UT (Similar Population to CLT): $600K

Large gap between required revenues and revenues from population

SC vs NC: Tax Comparison

Source: NC Fast Facts 2013, John Locke Foundation; tax-rates.org; sctax.org; taxfoundation.org

Stepping Up to the Plate with Two Strikes Against Us…

Rock Hill (SC)Lake Norman

(NC)Corporate Income Tax 5.00% 6.90%Gas Tax (c/gal) 16.8 39.2Gas Tax + State Excise Tax 35.2 57.8Gas Tax Rank 47 6Sales Tax 7.00% 8.75%

LKN vs Rock Hill (York County)

• 93 miles of highway improvements

• 87 miles of County gravel roads upgraded and paved

• 16 bridges repaired, replaced or widened

• 84 major intersections improved

“What Do You Need?”“There’s No Money!”

York- Since 1997LKN

Source: “Pennies for Progress” website, Phase I and Phase II

6 Lanes

8 Lanes

HOT Lane

6 Lanes

Location

8 Lanes

6 Lanes

From a business perspective, HOT lanes…

Are a red flag the road is congested

Indicates the state/municipality is unwilling or unable to invest in infrastructure

Siphons discretionary income out of the local economy

HOT Lanes on I-77:HOT Lanes on I-77:

1. Cost much more than GP lanes

2. Ensure congestion instead of relieving it

3. Eliminates or at least limits our ability to

make future I-77 improvements

4. Locks us into an agreement with a private

company for 50 years

5. Will negatively impact our economy

I-77 HOT Lanes

An Expensive, Non-Solution That Limits Future I-77

Improvements and Negatively Impacts Our Economy

Wideni77.orgwideni77@hotmail.com