FIRST ON POTOMACLOCAL.COM
By URIAH KISER
STAFFORD, Va. — Virginia’s governor said today he will pursue the second portion of a two-phase effort to bring toll lanes to Interstate 95 and extend them beyond Stafford County.
The $1 billion effort that will convert I-95’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to toll lanes between Dumfries and Alexandria – a public-private partnership between Virginia and road builders Fluor-Transurban — is slated to begin later this year.
As part of the first phase of the I-95 HOT lanes project, dubbed 95 Express Lanes, the HOV lanes will be extended nine miles from Dumfries to Va. 610 in North Stafford. The second, still unfunded phase, calls for extending the lanes beyond Va. 610 to south of Fredericksburg to Massaponax.
“I’m tired of talking. I want to see roads get built, and so we’re going to use every available tool not only without own dollars, but leveraging public dollars with private dollars to be able to get things done,” said Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in Stafford today. “There’s no question that a lot of people in Stafford and Fredericksburg work in D.C. I’m very aware of those traffic patterns.”
McDonnell said he wants the lanes to extend from Fredericksburg to the Springfield Mixing Bowl to help ease congestion on the busy travel lanes of I-95. He admits time and money are factors in whether or not the second phase of project gets done. He added the state will continue to invest in projects that use a mix of 20 percent of public funds and 70 percent of private funds for construction, and Virginia will explore highway toll collection to pay down construction costs.
As part of the HOT lanes deal for I-95, and for the new HOT lanes opening later this year on a portion of I-495 in Virginia, vehicles with three or more occupants will be able to ride for free while single drivers will be able to pay a toll to avoid congestion. The lanes will be tolled at all times.
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Join us on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., for the dedication of the Town of Occoquan’s LOVEworks sign in River Mill Park (415 Mill Street, Occoquan), designed by artist Darby Leondra. This event is free and open to the public.
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
