Freight movement is vital to the state of Texas and the nation. With several major ports, throughtruck routes, and distribution centers, Texas roadways carry millions of tons of freight each year. However, congestion on Texas roadways creates delay for commercial freight vehicles, and this delay can lead to increases in transportation costs for shippers, which may in turn drive up costs to consumers. In fact, ATRI ranked Texas second in the nation for the cost of congestion to the freight industry in terms of operating costs and lost productivity. One potential method for reducing the cost of congestion for freight vehicles, and possibly reducing congestion for all vehicles, is to provide trucks with exclusive use of preferential lanes or routes that allow them to bypass congestion. “Preferential lane” is a general term that describes any roadway lane designated for specific vehicle types on either a full-time or part-time basis. Examples of preferential lanes include bus lanes in a downtown environment or a fully separated lane on a freeway used by HOVs. Many major cities have considered truck-only lanes, and there are several good resources available for those interested in this option. In Atlanta, a truck-only toll lane network was considered carefully but ultimately not implemented because of negative response from the trucking industry. Preferential lanes for trucks may require the development of new infrastructure, which in turn requires funding. Preferential truck lanes could also be implemented through the conversion of an existing facility, which may generate opposition from the general motoring public since it will be excluded from the facility. Truck-only facilities are therefore a rarity, and where they do exist, it is often in response to very specific conditions or exceptionally high truck traffic volumes. A 2010 report from the National Cooperative Freight Research Program identified three types of locations where truck-only lanes have been implemented in urban corridors: Congested corridors with high truck volumes and significant contribution of truck traffic to congestion (e.g., I-710 and SR 60 in Southern California). Major through-truck routes that go through metropolitan areas and have high truck volumes and congestion (e.g., the Mid-City Freightway in Chicago and I-5 in Seattle). Congested corridors providing access to major ports or intermodal facilities (e.g., I-710 in Southern California, the Port of Miami Tunnel, and the Port Connector Project in Savannah, Georgia). Cities and regions wishing to provide preferential lanes and facilities to trucks may therefore find that existing freight volumes are not sufficient to justify the funding and outreach effort required to implement them. Therefore, another option that is being examined in urban areas is to allow trucks to access managed lane facilities. A managed lane is a type of preferential lane that is actively managed in response to travel demand conditions. Managed lane facilities typically involve general purpose lanes that are open to all vehicles but have separate (managed) lanes for special classes of vehicles. In most cases, these special classes include HOVs or transit vehicles Furthermore, some facilities may allow a vehicle that is not considered a special class to access the managed lanes with the payment of a toll. This is commonly known as a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane. The underlying concept of managed lanes is that access to a congestion-free alternative, in this case the managed lanes, provides an incentive to either take a bus, carpool, or pay a toll in order to avoid traffic. This in turn can help reduce congestion in the general purpose lanes by removing vehicles from the traffic flow while providing more reliable travel times for managed lane users. Furthermore, by incentivizing things like carpooling and transit use, managed lanes can increase the number of people moved within a corridor while reducing the number of vehicles. In Texas, the most common managed lanes are HOT lanes. In a typical HOT lane configuration, vehicles carrying two or more people travel free in the managed lane in peak hours, while single-occupant vehicles can use the lane during peak times by paying a toll. During off-peak times, the lane may be open to all vehicles or may be tolled for all vehicles. Managed lanes can differ considerably from this basic model both in terms of who pays a toll and when. Furthermore, facilities may have different requirements for the number of occupants that qualify for access or an HOV discount. The reasons for implementing a managed lane vary by jurisdiction, but they are most commonly aimed toward providing an alternative to congestion and improving travel time reliability. As such, allowing trucks to access them is one potential method for reducing time spent by trucks in congestion. There are several reasons to consider allowing trucks to use managed lanes. Truck use of managed lanes allows the opportunity to get the most out of the infrastructure investment made to create the lanes. Because managed lanes, and in particular HOT lanes, are meant to provide travel time savings during periods of peak congestion, they are often underutilized during off-peak periods. The question of what to do with preferential lanes during off-peak periods has faced transportation planners for many years. Allowing trucks to access these facilities during off-peak periods is one way to get more out of the infrastructure asset. Furthermore, providing a more reliable travel time to freight through congested urban areas may present an economic development opportunity because shippers and logistics firms might eventually locate freight terminals and related businesses near the facility. In addition, moving freight more efficiently delivers products to consumers more quickly, which also has economic impacts. Finally, the use of a managed lane by trucks may provide benefits to truck drivers by delivering a reliable, congestion-free trip. These driver benefits could carry over to freight companies through improved retention of employees. There are some similarities in practice between having truck-only lanes and allowing trucks to use managed lanes. Both strategies remove trucks from the general purpose lanes and thus share some safety and operational issues. Managed lanes, however, may not have been built with heavy vehicles in mind and therefore have some unique considerations regarding infrastructure, public opinion, maintenance, operations, and safety. All of these issues will be discussed later in this report. This report discusses truck access to managed lanes. It begins with an overview of why state, regional, and local transportation agencies might consider allowing trucks to access managed lanes. The report next discusses managed lane facilities that allow for truck access and those that do not. Considerations for truck access to managed lanes are then presented, followed by conclusions. This report is not about truck-only toll lanes or truck-only lanes along freeway corridors; rather, it is about making use of existing preferential lanes and designating them truck-only during certain hours of the day. Truck lane restrictions are also not covered in this report in detail. These restrictions may prohibit trucks from specific (typically the left-most) lanes or create lanes where only trucks are allowed. (Author/publisher)
Abstract