CBS Atlanta 46I-85 HOT lanes a success?

Debate over the I-85 HOT lanes is again heating up after some state leaders have declared the toll lanes a success.

"I know patience is thin, but I'm pretty confident that this will all get better and everybody will see the value when they see the statistics," said State Senator Jeff Mullis, chairman of the senate transportation committee.

The State Road and Tollway Authority said peak usage has reached nearly 12,000 vehicles which is almost the maximum for the toll lanes.

"I don't believe those numbers. I believe they're skewed," said State Senator Renee Unterman whose district includes Gwinnett County.

Unterman said she continues to hear from angry commuters in the county.

"I know that my constituents overwhelmingly do not like the toll lanes, and I am the voice piece for my constituents and that's what I'm doing," Unterman told CBS Atlanta.

SRTA said that 78 percent of drivers using the HOT lanes paid the toll in October and November. The rest used the lanes for free since they had at least three people in their vehicles.

"Well, they've got you addicted to the lane now," said Harold Rodgers, a founder of Stolen Lanes.org, a group opposed to the toll lanes. "Now that you're using it, the price is their only control so they're going to control the price."

Rodgers' group will consider filing a class action lawsuit against the state.

"We would file on the basis that it's affecting the quality of life of so many people, keeping them in traffic for longer periods of time," Rodgers said. "It's keeping them away from their families."

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