TOMORROW'S TOLL ROAD

Techniques using automatic vehicle identification (AVI) currently provide the most efficient form of electronic toll collection. Several systems have been installed in the U.S. in the last few years, generally at the pilot scale, but the true potential of this technology will be realized in applications on roads designed specifically for AVI collection. Three new toll roads being built in Orange County, Calif., will feature the most extensive use of AVI toll collection ever in the United States. This $2.1 billion project will add approximately 65 mi of new road, alleviating congestion on the Santa Ana (I-5), the Newport (I-55), the Riverside (91) and the San Diego (I-405) Freeways. Key elements of the planned system include bypass lanes for AVI users that allow nonstop, high-speed passage separate from conventional toll plazas, and an open median to permit adding AVI-only high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in the future. It also includes integration of traffic management with toll-collection facilities, and capabilities for variable pricing under both debit and credit operating systems.