Virginia transportation officials for the first time Tuesday announced the price tag for the proposed High Occupancy Toll lanes on Interstate 95, and said they’re close to a deal to begin construction.
The lanes are expected to cost taxpayers $97 million, and the private firm that will construct and operate the lanes, Fluor-Transurban, $843 million. While all of the workings of a final public-private transportation contract are in place, the state and the private firm have yet to sign the deal but say it, along with the first phases of construction, could begin as early as spring.
“Virginia recognizes it must get the most out of its existing transportation assets and find innovative solutions to move people and freight more efficiently,” said Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton. “With HOT lanes on both the Beltway and I-95, we will create a region-wide network of managed lanes that will enable travelers to get to and from some of Virginia’s most important employment centers and military sites.”
The planned lanes will stretch from Va. 610 in North Stafford to Edsall Road in Alexandria just inside the Capital Beltway, with project calling for the conversion of the existing HOV lanes between Dumfries and Alexandria to toll lanes. An additional two HOT lanes will be constructed from Dumfries to North Stafford, making for a nearly 30-mile transportation facility.
Original plans called for the HOT lanes to continue to the Pentagon, but Arlington officials sued and called the plan short-sighted, forcing state officials in February to acquiesce.
Electronic EZ Passes will be used in lieu of booths to collect tolls, which will vary depending upon traffic congestion in the lanes. Electronic signs will posted along the HOT lanes corridor with current toll rates so drivers can decided whether or not they want to use the facility.
Vehicles with three or more occupants will be able to use the lanes for free as they currently do on the current I-95/395 HOV system.
The new lane will come with an additional $200 million to expand bus service in Fairfax, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, as well as 3,000 new commuter parking spaces, officials said. The lanes will be operated by Fluor-Transurban for 73 years and then will be handed back over the state, according to the agreement.
Similar HOT lanes are currently being built on the Beltway from Springfield to Dulles Toll Road, and are scheduled to open late next year.
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To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 6-10, 2024), Clean Air Partners is working with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to exchange DC, Maryland and Virginia residents’ gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at select Ace Hardware locations in the region. DMV residents who turn in their gas-powered lawn tools will receive a FREE Ego Power+ replacement including batteries and chargers, while supplies last.
Compared to gas, electric lawn equipment can reduce emissions, noise pollution, health risks and maintenance costs and time. The program aims to remove about a hundred gas-powered polluting tools from yards in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
The exchanges will take place the weekends of May 17-19, 2024, and May 31-June 2, 2024, at A Few Cool Hardware Stores network of employee-owned Ace Hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas. To participate and get your free Ego Power+ lawn tool, sign up at https://qrco.de/CAPExchange to reserve your tool and select your trade-in date and location.
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Free Irish Music Concert
Welcoming Spring with music from the Emerald Isle, the New Dominion Choraliers offer a FREE concert on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City.
Joined by Legacy Brass and members of Old
Spring Ceili: An Irish Music Festival
The New Dominion Choraliers of Prince William County and McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance invite you to join them at our Ceili, a grand celebration of Irish music and dance.
A gathering of performance groups throughout Prince William County
