Express Lanes Work Enters Final Laps

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — The effort to add toll lanes to a 29-mile stretch of highway in Northern Virginia is entering its final phase.

Construction crews plan to work day and night over the next six months to put the finishing touches on the 95 Express Lanes, converting the High Occupany Vehicle lanes from Dumfries to the Pentagon to toll lanes, and adding new lanes from Dumfries south to North Stafford.

The express lanes run in the center of Interstate 95 and are slated to open in early 2015. They will allow drivers with three or occupants in their cars to ride free while single drivers will be able to pay a toll by using an EZ-Pass transponder.

Here’s more in a press release from Virginia Megaprojects:

To accommodate remaining construction activities, drivers should expect all lanes within the current I-95/395 HOV system, from the Washington, D.C. line to Dumfries Road, Route 234, to be closed during overnight periods and weekends. Critical work that will occur involves the installation of the Express Lanes’ tolling and traffic management equipment including 3.7 million linear feet of cabling and wire, 30 overhead toll gantries, more than 200 cameras used for detecting traffic incidents, over 220 gates, 190 lane control signals and more than 100 electronic message signs. Altogether, more than 950 tolling and traffic management devices will be deployed along the 95 Express Lanes corridor.

When all of the hardware is in place, crews will have to test it to ensure it works. Crews will also complete final paving and lane markings, as well as install guardrails, sound walls, and make sure all work on bridges is completed.