Working with the state Transportation Department and through the annual budget review process, the RTA will fund construction of new access ramps to the existing and already funded HOV lanes or fund other appropriate alternatives. The state Transportation Department will then move all HOV lanes in those corridors to the inside lane of the road.
The RTA Board views completion of the state's Freeway HOV Lane "core system" in the Puget Sound region as an important priority. However, the RTA assumes the state will complete construction of the core HOV lane system in accordance with its freeway HOV policy.
If the state does not fulfill its funding obligation, the RTA Board will conduct an open and public process to determine whether RTA funding is available (e.g. from savings realized in other program elements) and should be used to help complete the core HOV lane system.
HOV access ramps are the preferred investment for improving speed and reliability of regional express buses by eliminating the need to weave across general purpose lanes to reach HOV lanes. Before building individual HOV access ramps, the RTA will work with the state Transportation Department, local transit operators, local jurisdictions and citizen committees to assess each facility's location and function. This assessment will determine whether there are ways to achieve equivalent transit speed, reliability and ridership at a lower cost or by making transportation system management improvements instead. Regional and local land-use objectives and comprehensive plans will also be considered in the assessment.
Actual design and construction of all HOV lanes and ramps will be done by the state Transportation Department. Each HOV segment and direct access ramp will open as soon as the state Transportation Department completes it, with all of the RTA funded improvements operational by the end of ten years.
