Virginia and Transurban spend $1bn on infrastructure to improve congestion

The US state of Virginia and road operator Transurban are investing more than $1 billion in four projects to help tackle congestion on the I-495 and I-95. The partners want to establish a 90-mile network of connected Express Lanes throughout Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg by 2022. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT) and Transurban have signed an agreement for the first project, Capital Beltway Express Lanes Northern Extension. The new 2.5-mile area will offer four general purpose lanes and
January 31, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The US state of Virginia and road operator 600 Transurban are investing more than $1 billion in four projects to help tackle congestion on the I-495 and I-95.

The partners want to establish a 90-mile network of connected 8217 Express Lanes throughout Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg by 2022.

1747 Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT) and Transurban have signed an agreement for the first project, Capital Beltway Express Lanes Northern Extension. The new 2.5-mile area will offer four general purpose lanes and two new 8217 Express Lanes in each direction from the current terminus near the Dulles Access Road to the American Legion Bridge. The network will be extended to the Maryland border to address bottlenecks in the region and reduce cut-through traffic in local McLean neighbourhoods.

Additionally, a reversible ramp connecting the existing I-95 Express Lanes at Optiz Boulevard is expected to provide better access to Potomac Mills and Sentara Virginia Medical Centre. It will also allow drivers to exit directly onto Optiz Boulevard.

A new southbound auxiliary lane is to be built on I-95 in Woodbridge to address the traffic bottleneck at the Occoquan Bridge. This lane will connect the southbound Route 123 ramp onto I-95 with the off-ramp at Westbound Prince Willian Parkway.

Scott Surovell, member of the Virginia Senate, says: “The Occoquan bottleneck is the worst traffic problem in Virginia and has been one of my top priorities since I was elected to represent Prince William County in 2015.”

The fourth project is a 10-mile extension of the 95 Express Lanes to Fredericksburg.

VDoT is also developing environmental studies to support the projects.

Virginia is also taking steps to bolster its commercial vehicle enforcement systems. Earlier this month, 69 International Road Dynamics won a $4.2 million %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external contract false http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/utc/news/ird-to-maintain-commercial-vehicle-enforcement-systems-in-virginia/ false false%> to use weigh-in-motion technology to help maintain 11 mainline and ramp systems owned by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • MTC approves e-tolling upgrade for Bay Area bridges
    September 23, 2019
    The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) intends to replace cash lanes with the electronic FasTrak tolling system at seven bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area. A report by Fox 2 KTVU says the MTC is hoping the $4 million upgrade will speed up traffic flow and save money on operations on the following bridges: Carquinez, Antioch, Benicia, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay, San Mateo and Dumbarton. For drivers without a FasTrak system, cameras will capture the number plates of their v
    Read More
  • Transurban and partners host automated and connected vehicle tests
    October 20, 2015
    Transurban recently partnered with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute on their automated and connected vehicle technology road test on the 95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia. The ten-mile test, part of the Virginia Automated Corridors and Virginia Connected Corridors initiatives, was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and Transurban, which operates the Express Lanes. The test took place when the 95 Express Lanes were closed to th
    Read More
  • USDOT hosts webinar on New York connected vehicle pilot
    August 22, 2016
    The US Department of Transportation is hosting a webinar on 22 August at 1500-1600 EDT, Insights, Challenges and Lessons Learned from the Concept Development Phase - New York City (NYCDOT) Pilot Site. The New York City Connected Vehicle Pilot is part of a national effort to advance connected vehicle technologies through deployment, testing, and demonstration, as well as sharing lessons learned for future connected vehicle providers. The pilot, which is anticipated to be the largest connected vehicle depl
    Read More
  • ITS America declare Detroit as success
    October 24, 2014
    ITS America, organisers of the 2014 ITS World Congress in Detroit, has declared the event a great success with more than 9,100 participants, 700 papers and 300 exhibiters plus the most extensive set of demonstrations ever staged. The introduction of Chief Technology Officer sessions was considered a big success attracting almost 800 attendees.
    Read More

Highlighted Content