San Diego is launching a new-generation highway system this summer with the opening of 4.5 miles of state-of-the-art Express Lanes in the center median of Interstate 15.

A second piece of the project – another 3.5 miles extending the Express Lanes north from Rancho Bernardo Road to Centre City Parkway in Escondido – will open this winter.

The four-lane expressway within a freeway – which will be the most advanced transportation system in the nation when completed – will provide service to carpools, vanpools, transit, and FasTrak customers. It will eventually stretch for 20 miles along I-15, from State Route 163 in the Miramar area to State Route 78 in Escondido.

The new 4.5 miles of Express Lanes will feature:

• Two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes available 24/7.
• New access points to and from the Express Lanes and the regular highway lanes at SR 56/Ted Williams Parkway, Camino del Norte, and Rancho Bernardo Road.
• A direct access ramp at Sabre Springs/Peñasquitos. This ramp will provide priority access to the I-15 Express Lanes for transit, carpools/vanpools, and FasTrak® users.

The expanded facility will provide additional convenience and reliability for carpoolers and FasTrak® solo drivers facing a tough economy and high fuel prices. More frequent transit services, carpools, and vanpools also are being added to provide additional money-saving and travel choices.

SANDAG will offer an interim tolling price of 50 cents per trip for FasTrak solo drivers who use the new Express Lanes. Existing transponders will work in the new lanes. The variable pricing will continue as it is today for FasTrak solo drivers who use the existing eight-miles of Express Lanes to/from SR 163 and SR 56/Ted Williams Parkway. When the variable pricing technology is deployed to the new eight-mile segment in 2009, variable pricing tolls will be implemented for FasTrak users based on the distance traveled between the point they enter and the point they exit the I-15 Express Lanes.

With gas prices skyrocketing, and the new Express Lanes opening, SANDAG encourages drivers to reconsider their commute choices. For more information on the Express Lanes or FasTrak, visit www.511sd.com, or call 511 and say “FasTrak” to reach the Customer Service Center.

Funded in part by TransNet, the half-cent sales tax for transportation, this $1.3-billion SANDAG project will eventually stretch 20 miles along I-15. The entire project will be open in 2012.