Skip to main content

Open Roads collaborates with Virginia DOT on the 495 Express Lanes project

Opened on 17 November, the fourteen-mile corridor of new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in Northern Virginia from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway provides drivers with a faster, more predictable trip on the Capital Beltway. The 495 Express Lanes project supported more than 16,000 jobs and generated nearly US$3.5 billion of economic impact state-wide. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) provider Open Roads Consulting (Open R
December 11, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Opened on 17 November, the fourteen-mile corridor of new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes  in Northern Virginia from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway provides drivers with a faster, more predictable trip on the Capital Beltway. The 495 Express Lanes project supported more than 16,000 jobs and generated nearly US$3.5 billion of economic impact state-wide.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) provider 5660 Open Roads Consulting (Open Roads) collaborated with the 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and roads operator 600 Transurban to develop an interface that integrates the 495 Express Lanes Transportation Management System (TMS) and the Northern Virginia Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center (PSTOC) Advanced Transportation Management System.

The system, OpenTMS Enterprise System, was developed and deployed by Open Roads. The interface is designed to share different types of data between the two systems: incidents, work zones, DMS (dynamic message sign), traffic sensor, travel time, and weather station data.  Open Roads worked closely with VDOT and Transurban to define the system interface requirements, software functional requirements, current user interface to incorporate the HOT lanes information for use by the PSTOC management and staff. VDOT and Open Roads have made tremendous efforts to create situational awareness to deliver improved safety and travel times to the motoring public in the region.

Governor Bob McDonnell participated in an opening event celebration in Tysons Corner with elected officials, media and key project personnel to commemorate the opening of the new traffic solution. He commented that the opening of the 495 Express Lanes means opportunity for Virginia as the project not only helped create jobs during construction, but will continue to make Northern Virginia a more attractive place to work and live. He also stated that the Express Lanes will open the region for business by providing better access to key employer centers and delivering the infrastructure needed to grow businesses and create additional jobs.

Related Content

  • July 27, 2012
    Virginia launches E-Zpass Flex
    Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT) has launched of E-ZPass Flex, a new E-ZPass transponder able to switch between toll-free and toll-paying travel on the 495 Express Lanes scheduled to open by the end of this year. Because these lanes are an all-electronic tolling facility, every vehicle using them will need an E-ZPass transponder. And, though every standard E-ZPass transponder will work in the Express Lanes, only the E-ZPass Flex transponder enables drivers to use a manual switch on the transpond
  • December 12, 2016
    Meridiam consortium named preferred proposer for Virginia's transform 66 project
    A consortium of Meridiam, Cintra, Ferrovial Agroman US, Allan Myers VA, Janssen & Spaans Engineering, the Louis Berger Group and American Structurepoint has been named Preferred Proposer by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the State’s Transform 66 Project. I-66 Express Mobility Partners will design, build, finance, maintain and operate the I-66 Outside the Beltway project under the Public Private Partnership (P3) Transportation Act. The project is designed to relieve congestion, improve safety and provi
  • May 12, 2014
    New research finds distracted driving on the rise on I-95
    Transurban-Fluor and AAA Mid-Atlantic have released the second annual report on distracted drivers on I-95 in Northern Virginia, which found that despite major construction, distracted driving is a growing problem on the heavily travelled corridor. The report, part of the Orange Cones, No Phones campaign focused on reducing distracted driving in the 95 Express Lanes construction zone, found that the number of frequent I-95 drivers likely to use their cell phone while driving has increased from 56 percent i
  • April 22, 2013
    Open Roads updates Alaska’s 511 website and wins Virginia contract
    Open Roads and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) have introduced a new version of the 511 Traveler Information Website