Skip to main content

TransCore wins contract on new HOV to Express lane conversion

California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has launched the first phase of its 290km conversion of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to Express Lanes, or commonly known as high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, with TransCore serving as lead integrator for the project. The US$11.8 million programme comes at a crucial time in Silicon Valley as it prepares for an expected 38 per cent growth in population over the next 20 years and funding for transportation improvements is projected to grow at
April 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSCalifornia’s 1791 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has launched the first phase of its 290km conversion of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to Express Lanes, or commonly known as high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, with 139 Transcore serving as lead integrator for the project. The US$11.8 million programme comes at a crucial time in Silicon Valley as it prepares for an expected 38 per cent growth in population over the next 20 years and funding for transportation improvements is projected to grow at only a fraction of that amount.

VTA is implementing the Silicon Valley Express Lanes programme to provide congestion relief in one of its major Bay Area commuter corridors. As part of the programme, the SR 237, U.S. 101, SR 85 and parts of I-680 corridor will convert the existing HOV lanes to express lanes.

The first phase of the project focused on the intersect of the major north to south interstate I-880, from Oakland south into San Jose, with SR 237, the east to west freeway. Carpools as well as clean air vehicles, motorcycles, and transit buses will continue to use the lanes free of charge. Express Lane fees will be collected electronically using the radio frequency identification (RFID)-based electronic toll collection technology already in use on the San Francisco Bay Area Bridges and elsewhere in California. Enforcement will be provided by the 1855 California Highway Patrol.

“TransCore’s traffic engineering experience combined with our knowledge implementing every aspect of electronic toll collection, from system integration to manufacturing RFID technology, allowed us to tackle challenging design aspects that VTA faced and develop a solution that addresses the traffic concerns experienced in this corridor,” explained Michael Mauritz, TransCore managing director for the Western region.

Nationally, TransCore has supported HOT lane deployments on America’s first HOT installation on I-15 in San Diego as well as Houston Metro’s deployment earlier in the year, Miami’s I-95 Express, Seattle’s SR 167, and Salt Lake City’s I-15.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A fresh approach to electronic fee collection
    July 16, 2012
    The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is pioneering fresh approaches to Electronic Fee Collection (EFC) deployment in the US. Its new system, operational since January 2009 on all buses and commuter trains, is the country's first full-network rollout of transit e-ticketing technology built on an open-payment network, according to the organisation's Technology Programme Development Manager Craig Roberts.
  • Indra chooses Q-Free for North Carolina express lane project
    June 6, 2024
    NCDoT and NCTA are behind I-485 Express Lane Roadside Toll Collection System
  • Kapsch outlines tolling options to combat traffic congestion
    January 11, 2017
    Michael Maitland from Kapsch TrafficCom looks at how the various forms of tolling can help authorities combat traffic congestion and air quality problems while simultaneously raising revenue.
  • Upgrade for Minnesota’s tolling system data integration
    May 31, 2016
    Following the US Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Agreement’s award to Minnesota DOT of the necessary funds to improve traffic flow on I-35W to and from downtown Minneapolis, Comtrol's DeviceMaster RTS 1-port was implemented to provide an Ethernet connection between all the toll tag readers along the I-35W corridor. The project consisted of retrofitting existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes with technology that would enable single-occupant vehicles to use the HOV lanes. The toll lan