With Northern California’s first Express Lane set to open September 20th, contractors putting the final touches on the lane will change carpool lane striping to “limited access” on 14 miles of Interstate 680 southbound from Pleasanton to Milpitas. The conversion is set to start the week of September 7th. Two lanes will be closed each night along a portion of the project to facilitate the striping work.

The I-680 Express Lane will launch a new era in Bay Area transportation and congestion management. For the first time, solo drivers can choose to use the carpool lane by paying a toll electronically via a FasTrak® toll tag. Carpoolers, transit vehicles, motorcycles, and hybrid vehicles with a valid sticker may continue to use the lane for free.

To delineate the I-680 Express Lane from the general purpose lanes clearly, a two-foot-wide buffer zone featuring double solid lines will be created to mark and separate the two types of roadways between Highway 84 and Highway 237. Solo Express Lane drivers as well as carpool vehicles will have specific entry and exit points rather than open access across a dotted line. Crossing over the double solid line buffer that marks the Express Lane is against the law.

“Limited access is definitely new in Northern California, but it’s common for carpool and Express Lanes in Southern California and elsewhere in the country,” said Scott Haggerty, chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and of the joint powers authority overseeing the I-680 Express Lane. “The solid lines should reduce cheating by discouraging non-paying solo drivers from cutting in and out of the lane. And with an 1,800-foot-long merge lane at access points, it should be safer, too.”

The I-680 Express Lane will feature three entry points and three exit points along its 14-mile route. The buffer zone striping will be done in segments each night, starting with the portion from Sheridan Road to Mission Boulevard north (Highway 238). The buffer zone striping for the entire route will be completed in time for the Express Lane to open at 5:00AM on Monday, September 20th. During this final construction period, carpoolers may need to enter or leave the carpool lane at a different point from what they are used to. Full details including a map of the entry and exit points are online at www.680expresslane.org.

In addition to re-striping the roadway, contractors are testing the electronic toll collection system and the enforcement equipment to make sure the toll amounts adjust according to traffic conditions and are charged accurately. Drivers in the carpool lane may hear a “beep” or see a light flash as the electronics are being tested, but no tolls will be charged and no violations will be issued during the test period. To obtain a FasTrak toll tag, drivers can go to www.bayareafastrak.org or to a Safeway, Costco, or Walgreen’s store.

After I-680, the next Express Lanes in the Bay Area will be I-580 from Pleasanton to Livermore and the Highway 237 flyover to I-880 in Milpitas.