As a long time slugline commuter (on 395), I'm not really a fan of the express lanes. I-66 is already bottlenecked in the morning (267 merge 66, and before cro

As a long time slugline commuter (on 395), I'm not really a fan of the express lanes. I-66 is already bottlenecked in the morning (267 merge 66, and before crossing the river). Not sure how can they justify charging even $100 to add more cars to that bottleneck during the peak hours. Problem with the way express lanes are built, even on 495 (northbound), is that the point where the express lanes end, and merge with regular lanes, often are not equipped to handle the onslaught of the express lane traffic into existing lanes. So all the rosy theories that convince the express lanes supporters are true until the last mile of the express lane, and then it is quite the opposite. The express lanes have a small backup of about half a mile, and the regular lanes often backup a mile or two. I'm hoping that, with the proposed conversion of I-66 from HOV-2 to HOV-3 due some time on 2019 or 2020, sluglines form along 66 and 267, giving rise to the real rideshare transport system that has benefited those along I-395 for more than 30 years! This two stage conversion of a HOV-2 in peak directions, to express lanes with HOV-3 is a great tactic to ensure commuters dont get super angry at once! (and surprising that WaPost missed it, unless they didn't ;)