Skip to main content

Work to begin on North Virginia highway improvements to ease congestion

Work will begin this summer on the first major improvements to US Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, Virginia, in 15 years. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) project is part of a comprehensive initiative to transform the I-66 corridor, giving commuters and other travellers a variety of fast and reliable choices for getting to and from work. Toll revenues will fund multimodal improvements, giving commuters expanded options for travel. To jumpstart the process, the Commonwealth Transp
August 2, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
RSSWork will begin this summer on the first major improvements to US Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, Virginia, in 15 years. The 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) project is part of a comprehensive initiative to transform the I-66 corridor, giving commuters and other travellers a variety of fast and reliable choices for getting to and from work.

Toll revenues will fund multimodal improvements, giving commuters expanded options for travel. To jumpstart the process, the Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a nearly US$10 million program to fund a series of multimodal projects identified by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.

Contracts totalling US$60 million were awarded to Fort Myer Construction for tolling infrastructure construction and to 139 TransCore for tolling equipment installation. The project includes eight overhead electronic toll collection gantries on I-66 and approximately 125 signs along I-66 and local roads approaching the highway. The work will require periodic lane closures on local roads approaching I-66 interchanges, ramp closures and night-time lane closures along I-66 itself. Brief, occasional total closures of I-66 will occur during overnight construction to install the overhead gantries. Construction will conclude next year.

In addition to these improvements, a four-mile segment of eastbound I-66 from the Dulles Connector Road to Fairfax Drive will be widened to provide further congestion relief.

The initial project includes the installation of tolling equipment along the Capital Beltway to the Lee Highway exit and signage on local streets approaching the highway. The new I-66 inside the Beltway will be the country’s first roadway with dynamic tolling on all lanes during peak period traffic, keeping traffic moving at highway speeds by adjusting toll prices based on traffic volume.

Related Content

  • February 21, 2019
    Conduent to provide tolling system to ease congestion in Los Angeles
    Conduent Transportation is to modernise the tolling system on ExpressLanes in Los Angeles County to help reduce congestion and improve safety along the I-10 and I-110 corridors. The eight-year contract is an extension to a six-year partnership with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro). The scope of the project includes the installation of overhead scanners and automatic vehicle identification equipment which corresponds with the FasTrak transponders installed on commuter v
  • May 11, 2012
    Funding shortfall for US Interstate upgrades
    Andrew Bardin Williams investigates tolling on the federal Interstate system as maintenance and upgrade requirements increasingly outpace funding The I-95 corridor through North Carolina is one of the most heavy trafficked interstates in the US, seeing upwards of 46,000 vehicles per day in some stretches-and North Carolina’s Department of Transportation (NCDOT) estimates this number will to rise to 98,000 vehicles per day by 2040. Along with the rest of the federal interstate system, the North Carolina str
  • May 17, 2012
    Two initiatives announced to cut road works disruption in London
    A joint US$1.6 million fund to research and develop new technology to reduce the disruption caused by road works was announced yesterday by UK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Confirmation of a lane rental scheme for roadworks was also announced at the same time.
  • January 11, 2017
    Kapsch outlines tolling options to combat traffic congestion
    Michael Maitland from Kapsch TrafficCom looks at how the various forms of tolling can help authorities combat traffic congestion and air quality problems while simultaneously raising revenue.