I-95 Toll Rate Hike Coming This Month

The Florida Department of Transportation is about to increase the rate to drive from the Golden Glades interchange to Interstate 395 from 25 cents to 50 cents.

That's mainly because state officials had underestimated how much people hate the crap out of sitting in jammed-up traffic on I-95.

On a really bad day, commuters should expect to pay as much as $10.50 in tolls, which will be up from $7.

The initial idea for charging a toll on the express lanes was to reduce traffic in those lanes to keep traffic moving along. People would rather not pay a toll and would stick to the regular lane, thus reducing bottleneck traffic in the express lane, officials thought.

State officials don't commute on the I-95 much, we take it.

They say the reason for the price hikes is not only to keep traffic moving but to also charge what the state feels is a reasonable rate to avoid crowding and slow moving traffic.

The other line of reasoning here is that if the toll is higher, fewer people will use that lane or decide to hit the 95 when it isn't so crowded.

Of course, curing traffic jam woes -- especially in South Florida -- is like trying to solve Beal's conjecture. IT CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT GOING MAD.

But that's not stopping officials, who have even more plans to try to ease commutes.

From the Sun-Sentinel:

The next big test for the express lanes comes in April 2015.

That's when express lanes open on a 13-mile stretch of I-95 between the Golden Glades and Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The new segment will have multiple entry and exit points and vary from one to two lanes.

Under the reconfiguration, I-95's two outside lanes will remain at 12 feet wide while the inside lanes will be narrowed to 11 feet. South of the Golden Glades, all lanes were narrowed to 11 feet.

Plans call for the express lanes eventually to go as far north as Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach.

So we have THAT construction nightmare to look forward to.

Expect the new price hikes to kick in by late February or early March this year.

According to a 2012 survey, almost a third of those polled said they use the express lanes two to four times a week.

So, a buck fifty? Five dollars? A budget-busting monthly fee?

It may not matter when it comes to the nightmarish gridlock awfulness that I-95 can sometimes be.

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