This is the kind of innovative thinking I wish we saw more of in government (emphasis mine):

Construction of the first major expansion of the Capital Beltway in a generation could start as soon as next year, Virginia transportation officials said yesterday after signing a deal with two private firms to build toll lanes for a speedier ride on 14 miles of the chronically clogged highway.

The deal calls for adding two lanes in each direction of the Beltway, separated from other traffic, between Springfield and Georgetown Pike near the Maryland border. The high-occupancy toll — or HOT — lanes would be free for vehicles containing three or more people; other drivers would pay to use them. To keep the lanes from clogging, tolls would increase with the amount of traffic.

The state would not have to pay anything for the new lanes. The private companies would invest the entire $900 million cost of the project in exchange for all or part of the toll revenue.

“For drivers in Northern Virginia, it’ll mean new capacity, which is something that has not been offered in a long time,” said Transportation Commissioner Philip A. Shucet. “It means a new opportunity for HOV and transit, and it means a choice for drivers who want to pay for a faster commute.“

[...]

Critics once derided such lanes as “Lexus lanes” — arguing that they favor the wealthy and were a double tax on roads that motorists already pay for — but have changed their minds because studies have shown that they are used by people of all incomes and, in this case, because no state money is being used.

Not only that, but everyone benefits because the drivers who choose to pay for a ride in the “first class lanes” will alleviate traffic in the free lanes.

State officials said that Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Transurban Group will pay to build the lanes, which could open in 2010. They will also operate and maintain them. State and company officials said they haven’t worked out how the firms will recoup their investment, but a likely scenario is that they will receive revenue through 2065. State officials added that there would be a cap to prevent “obscene” profits.

Sounds like this part of the deal was necessary to placate the government bureaucrats who fear capitalism. Who defines obscene? The market can define obscene quite well: if the prices are too high, not people enough people will use the lanes for the companies to recoup their costs. And if enough people do use the lanes at a price point that leads to very high profits, isn’t that a sign the operating companies are doing something right, not something wrong?

Still, despite this little nugget of socialism thrown in, this sounds like an important step forward: citizens get served without it costing a dime in taxpayer money, commuters get a new transportation option that benefits them even if they choose not to use it, and businesses get a chance to thrive in a sector normally monopolized—and mismanaged—by government; a win-win-win situation.