High Occupancy Toll Lanes or "Lexus Lanes" as many have dubbed them may be coming to Interstate 4. The idea, sparked by the Florida Department of Transportation, would install these special lanes in select areas of I-4 in and around Orlando.
These lanes would be available to drivers willing to shell out the extra bucks to avoid common traffic congestion in areas like Downtown Orlando and beyond. This could also mean quicker trips to areas like Downtown Disney and Universal Citywalk for us here in Tampa.
This is all due in part to a massive highway bill that passed in congress last month. The bill covers a lot of bases and merges transportation policy with flood-insurance changes and a freeze on student-loan rates.
It will also allow for the construction of these so called "Lexus Lanes" alongside I-4's already free lanes. To do this, though, the Florida Department of Transportation needs private companies to fund the construction. The FDOT hopes, if all goes according to plan, to begin construction on these Lexus Lanes by 2014. To do so, they'll need as much as $900 million to fund the project.
So, what do you think, Tampa Bay? If Lexus Lanes came to our often-crowded interstate areas, would you use them? Let us know in the comments section below.
