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" With the promise of the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf hitting the production lines with increased fervor over the next few months, it&amp;#039;s time to start dealing with the big problem for electric cars: road trips. Americans may be on waiting lists to buy up these new EVs, but a nationwide network of charging stations to recharge their batteries is still a dream. In the Pacific Northwest, however, the first EV highway in the U.S. is on the way.  This week the Washington Department of Transportation announced it had selected the company AeroVironment to begin accommodating its major roads for the future of fuel-efficient vehicles. Starting this fall, the company will begin installing charging stations located off stretches of I-5 and U.S. 2 in Washington every 40 to 60 miles between the Canadian and Oregonian borders.  These stations will feature a large step up in juice from household versions. Clocking in at 480 volts, the DC Fast-Charging stations will be capable of recharging an electric car in under 30 minutes. The stations will also include Level 2 chargers, like what AeroVironment installed for PM in our office building&amp;#039;s loading dock, that could recharge an EV in 4-6 hours.  Tonia Buell at the Washington State Department of Transportation says that the Level 2 chargers will be free to use at least for the first year of operation. &amp;quot;[For] the Level 3, or DC fast-charging stations, price is still being discussed with our partners at AeroVironment,&amp;quot; she says.  The other major uncertainty is which cars will be able to use this new infrastructure. Right now, there is a U.S. standard for the Level 2 charging plug, but no U.S. standard for the Level 3 DC fast-charger. The Nissan Leaf is the only current car that can use the Level 3 plug being installed in Washington, and if you purchase a LEAF through the the EV Project, it comes pre-installed with the Level 3 plug. However, if you purchased a LEAF at a local Nissan dealer, you&amp;#039;d have to upgrade to the Level 3 (which will set you back $700) before you could make a 30-minute pit stop.  &amp;quot;We didn&amp;#039;t want to wait too long for the standard to be set, as it could take a year or so. But we have an agreement with AeroVironment that we&amp;#039;ll have the rights to an upgrade when it happens.&amp;quot; It may take American drivers some time to get used to the idea of stopping every 60 miles for a half hour recharge when they are accustomed to going hundreds of miles on a tank of gas. But Washington&amp;#039;s EV highway is just the first step in a plan to eventually outfit the entire west coast with such charging stations, running from the Canadian border all the way down to Mexico. Washington and Oregon both received state energy funds to work on this project and have been collaborating to make an EV interstate a reality. &amp;quot;The projects will be happening simultaneously and Oregon&amp;#039;s charging stations will be finished in the fall as well,&amp;quot; Buell said. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re both working with AeroVironment and they&amp;#039;ll be putting up eight stations on their interchanges the same time we will.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a6852/first-ev-highway-is-coming-to-washington-state/>