Mark F' Muriello Assistant Director Tunnels, Bridges

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Mark F. MurielloAssistant DirectorTunnels,
Bridges Terminals
Managing Auto Traffic Demand And Express Bus Lanes
Linking Midtown Manhattan and New Jersey Via the
Lincoln Tunnel
Presentation to USDOT Washington, D.C. January
13, 2005
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Teterboro Airport
LaGuardia Airport
Newark Liberty Airport
PATH
Brooklyn Marine Terminal
Port Newark
Red Hook Container Terminal
Elizabeth Marine Terminal
Auto Marine Terminal
Kennedy International Airport
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
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The Midtown Corridor and The Lincoln Tunnel
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The Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL)
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Lincoln Tunnel Traffic Flow Operational
Flexibility
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Lincoln Tunnel The AM Operation
To NYC
To NJ
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Lincoln Tunnel The Midday Operation
To NJ
To NJ
To NYC
To NYC
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Lincoln Tunnel The PM Operation
To NJ
To NYC
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The XBL Configuration
Contra-Flow Lane
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Lincoln Tunnel Operations Priority for Buses
North Tube
Center Tube
South Tube
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The XBL Operation
The busiest bus lane in the nation

• 1,700 average daily buses.
• 62,000 weekday commuters served.
• Serves more commuters to Midtown than PATH,
  Ferries, or Penn Station commuter rail.

The XBL saves commuters 15-20 minutes each day
compared with autos.
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The Lincoln Tunnel the XBL A Mass Transit
Facility
Lincoln Tunnel
A productive mover of people to Midtown
6-10 a.m. Eastbound Passenger Volume

• Buses carry nearly 80 of all 6-10 a.m. trips
  thru the Lincoln Tunnel.
• The XBL alone carries over 50 of these
  commuters.
• 55 of all bus commuters to the Manhattan CBD
  arrive via the Lincoln Tunnel.

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Trans-Hudson River Ridership
Average Weekday Ridership
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XBL Capacity Constraints
Number Of Daily Buses
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The Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane
Difficult Merges
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A New Acceleration Lane
Maintain travel speeds and traffic flow at merge
points.
Helped increase throughput of the XBL at the
entry points.
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XBL Operational Improvements
Capacity shortfalls have been addressed with
operational changes to enhance efficiency.

• Prohibition of charter buses prior to 9 a.m.
• Prohibition of all empty buses at all times
• Requirement that all XBL buses have E-ZPass
• Opening the XBL 15 minutes earlier

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Planning for Long-Term Needs
An range of options for the corridor are being
assessed in partnership with an array of partners.

• Lincoln Tunnel Corridor Simulation.
• XBL Expansion Feasibility Study.
• West Midtown Bus Parking and Staging Study.
• Lincoln Tunnel HOT / Express Bus Lane Options.
• Lincoln Tunnel HOT / Commercial Vehicle Priority
  Lane Options.

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Lincoln Tunnel Corridor Simulation
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Feasibility of XBL Expansion

• The FTA is sponsoring a study to evaluate the
  feasibility of creating a second priority bus
  lane.

The objective is to increase the passenger
throughput of the corridor and to enhance the
reliability of the XBL.
Scope Of Work to explore a full array of options

• Operational alternatives to improve traffic flow
  and safety
• Physical alternatives for lane separation, ramp
  connections, etc.
• Capital options to expand capacity (including the
  potential of widening the roadway, removing the
  center piers, and potential elevated roadway
  schemes).

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The Challenge of Geometry Neighborhood
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HOT Lane Options
The FHWAs Value Pricing Pilot Program is
sponsoring a study of pricing options to manage
demand with High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes.
XBL-2 would be underutilized by buses only.

• Fill some remaining capacity with non-bus HOVs.
• Fill remaining capacity with non-HOV vehicles.

Scope of Work

• Explore pricing options that balance traffic
  demand with non-HOVs.
• Stated preference motorist surveys to determine
  tradeoff between price and level of service
  (travel time savings and reliability).

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Lincoln Tunnel Auto Occupancy
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Lincoln Tunnel HOT Lane Study
This project will help quantify and address
concerns with a potential lane conversion.

• Level of service and delay in the remaining two
  regular travel lanes
• Traffic queuing in the remaining regular travel
  lanes and the residual impacts on the local
  street network
• Need to balance demand for a new managed lane to
  ensure bus priority treatment, ensuring effective
  capacity utilization.

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HOT Lane Study Commercial Vehicle Priority
Options
Explore the potential for commercial vehicles to
receive priority treatment in a new special-use
lane during the shoulders of the morning
peak-period.
The objective is to find ways to take advantage
of the presence of a separated lane to create
travel time advantages and reliability
improvements for small package and local delivery
trucks.