I-95 Southbound: Exit 148 (Quantico) Monday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 10 a.m. Single and double lane closures with intermittent full stops at mile markers 148–146 as construction continues for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension.

• 9 p.m. Single lane closed 10 p.m., Two lanes closed, Midnight – 3 a.m. Full, intermittent traffic stops for up to 30 min. intervals, 4:30 a.m. Two lanes open while one southbound lane remains closed and 10 a.m. – All southbound lanes open.
• Exit 126 (Spotsylvania): Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single and double lane closures with intermittent full stops at mile markers 125–124. Beam placement for construction of new Route 17 (Mills Drive) overpass.
• 9 p.m. Single lane closed, 10 p.m. Two lanes closed, 11:30 p.m. – 3:30 a.m. Full, intermittent traffic stops for up to 30 min. intervals and 4:30 a.m. All southbound lanes open.
• Exit 110 (Ladysmith) to Exit 104 (Carmel Church) Sunday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. Single and double lane closures for mobile operation to mill and pave at mile markers 108-104.

I-95 Northbound: Exit 110 (Ladysmith) Sunday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. Alternating lane closures for paving work at mile markers 111–112, near the Ladysmith interchange.

• Exit 118 (Thornburg) to Exit 126 (Spotsylvania) Sunday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m. Single and double lane closures for milling and paving work at mile markers 118–120, near the Thornburg interchange.
• Monday – Tuesday, 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. Off ramp at the exit 118 interchange will close for paving. Drivers can exit I-95 northbound at exit 110 (Ladysmith) to Route 1 depending on their destination.
• Tuesday – Wednesday, 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. On-ramp at the exit 118 interchange will close for paving. Drivers can access I-95 northbound at exit 126 (Spotsylvania) or exit 110 (Ladysmith).
• Exit 126 (Spotsylvania) Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single and double lane closures with intermittent full stops at mile markers 124–125. Beam placement for construction of new Route 17 (Mills Drive) overpass.
• 9 p.m. Single lane closed, 10 p.m. Two lanes closed and 4:30 a.m. All northbound lanes open.
• Exit 133 (Route 17) to Exit 136 (Centreport Parkway) Monday – Thursday, 9 p.m. – 10 a.m. Construction continues for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension at mile markers 134 –136.
• 9 p.m. Single lane closed, 10 p.m. Two lanes closed, Midnight – 3 a.m. Full, intermittent traffic stops for up to 30 minutes and 4:30 a.m. All lanes open.
• Friday?– Saturday,?10 p.m. – 5 a.m. Single lane closure. Construction for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension at mile markers 134–136.
• Exit 140 (Courthouse Road) to Exit 143 (Aquia/Garrisonville) Monday?– Thursday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single lane closure. Construction for 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension at mile markers 139–142.

Stafford County: Route 1 Sunday – Thursday, 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Alternating lane closures on Route 1 for milling and paving between the bridges over Potomac Creek and Layhill Road. Milling and paving will also occur during these times at the following intersections with Route 1: Enon Road and Cranes Corner Road and Centreport Parkway.

• Route 17 Northbound and Southbound: Sunday – Tuesday, 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. Single lane closures for mobile operation to repair guardrail repair at multiple locations along Route 17 northbound and southbound in Stafford.
• Route 610 (Garrisonville Road) Tuesday – Friday, 8 p.m. – 7 a.m. Crews will begin paving activities to resurface Route 610 between Mine Road and Joshua Road. Crews will start by milling the existing pavement on Route 610 westbound near Mine Road, and will progress west toward Joshua Road. Once crews have reached Joshua Road, they will next work along Route 610 eastbound toward Mine Road. Travelers will encounter brief overnight delays and a temporary rough ride. Westbound lane closures are permitted 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. Eastbound lane closures permitted 8 p.m. – 5 a.m.
• Route 630 (Courthouse Road) Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Mobile operation between Austin Ridge Drive and Winding Creek Road for roadway sweeping.

Stafford County and King George County: Route 218 (White Oak Road/Caledon Road) Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. Flagging crew will alternate, one-way traffic on Route 218 (White Oak Road) between Route 604 (Belle Plains Road) and Route 206 (Dahlgren Road) in King George County for a safety improvement project. Read the release here.

Spotsylvania County: Route 1 Wednesday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 6 a.m. Alternating lane closures on Route 1 northbound and southbound for paving between Market Street and Bakers Lane.

• Route 3 at Orange Plank Road: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Alternating lane closures at the intersection for traffic signal work as part of the project to improve traffic flow and reduce conflict points that contribute to crashes. Read the news release.
• Route 17 (Mills Drive) Monday – Friday, 9 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. Single lane closure between Latitude Street (shopping center entrance) and Glenwood Drive.
• Route 208 (Courthouse Road) Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Monday – Friday, 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. Paving between Route 601 (Lawyers Road) and Route 691 (Black Rock Drive) with one-way, alternating traffic directed through the work zone by a flagging crew.
• Route 600 (Herndon Road) Sunday – Friday, 5 p.m. – 6 a.m. and Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Milling and paving between Brock Road and Orange Plank Road with one-way alternating traffic directed through the work zone by a flagging crew.
• Route 610 (Brock Road) Sunday – Friday, 5 p.m. – 6 a.m. and Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Milling and paving between Herndon Road and Route 3 with one-way, alternating traffic directed through the work zone by a flagging crew.
• Market Street: Monday – Wednesday, 9 p.m. – 6 a.m. Alternating lane closures on Market Street for paving between Route 1 and Spotsylvania Avenue.
• Route 711 (Southpoint Parkway) Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Single lane closure on Southpoint Parkway between Route 1 southbound and Pacific Drive as part of a widening project.

—Virginia Department of Transportation

95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension (Fred Ex): “The 10-mile mainline between Garrisonville Road and Route 17 is anticipated to open southbound at 10 p.m. on Thursday, August 17. The Lanes will be ready for northbound traffic the following morning, August 18, per normal summer reversal schedule. Remaining access points along the project corridor are anticipated to open late 2023.”

The extension runs from Garrisonville Road (Route 610) in North Stafford to Route 17 (Warrenton Road) near Fredericksburg. At the Stafford County Courthouse, Gov. Glen Youngkin will open the new lanes during a ceremony on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

VDOT/Transubran: “The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Transurban North America will partially open a 10-mile extension of the 95 Express Lanes in August to reduce congestion on the Interstate 95 corridor through Stafford County and Fredericksburg, connecting the region to Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.”

“The extension will continue the 95 Express Lanes from the current terminus just south of Route 610 (Garrisonville Road) to near Route 17 (Warrenton Road) in Stafford County. In August, northbound I-95 through travelers approaching from the Rappahannock River area will be able to enter Express Lanes using a left ramp entrance near the Route 17 interchange.”

“Southbound Express Lanes travelers will be able to drive an additional 10 miles south in the new facility to the Route 17 area. Exiting travelers can enter local I-95 southbound travel lanes near the Rappahannock River to access the Route 17 or Route 3 interchanges or continue in the I-95 southbound through travel lanes.”

“Two reversible Express Lanes will carry traffic northbound or southbound in the I-95 median according to the 95 Express Lanes operational schedule. Motorcycles and buses travel toll-free, and vehicles carrying three occupants or more travel toll-free with an E-ZPass Flex set to HOV ON. Vehicles with one or two occupants pay a variable toll with an E-ZPass or E-ZPass Flex set to HOV OFF. Learn more about the rules of the road.”

“Additional new access points to and from the Express Lanes near Marine Corps Base Quantico and Courthouse Road will open in late 2023. Following the reopening of the I-95 general-purpose lanes from exits 130 to 133 in late 2023, local traffic seeking to enter the northbound Express Lanes will use a new flyover ramp near Route 17.”

 

Transform I-66 Express Outside the Beltway: “Today the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project was named the 2023 Public-Private Partnership (P3) Project of the Year in the Innovation of the Year category by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).”

“The nation’s oldest transportation-related construction group recognized the innovative partnership between I-66 Express Mobility Partners, FAM Construction, and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The announcement was made at ARTBA’s 35^th annual P3s In Transportation conference, held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C.”

“The Innovation of the Year award recognizes projects and organizations which demonstrate outstanding achievement in establishing, delivering, and operating P3 transportation projects in the United States.”

“The $3.7-billion multi-modal Transform 66 mega-project – among the largest P3 infrastructure projects in the US this century – won the competitive annual award for its innovative methods throughout the procurement and construction phases. Construction of the Transform 66 project is slated to be fully complete by the end of the summer of 2023.”

Some of the engineering innovations in the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project include self-propelled modular transporter systems, advanced Lidar technology developed by Ferrovial Construction, and the rubblization of more than one million square yards of concrete pavement – one of the largest rubblization projects ever in the US – reducing the project’s carbon footprint by reusing rubblized concrete.

“The Transform 66 Outside the Beltway has required some smart innovations and out-of-the-box thinking,” said Luis Vazquez, CEO of I-66 EMP. “We’re proud to receive this P3 award from ARTBA, and we look forward to continuing a long, beneficial partnership with VDOT.”

With the region’s elected officials gathering at their annual retreat this Friday and Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth continued to urge reform of the region’s transportation priorities.

A national poll of 2001 voters (90% of whom are drivers) released last week by Transportation for America revealed that two-thirds of Americans know highway expansions don’t cure traffic. Sixty-seven percent of American voters polled agreed that widening highways attract more people to drive, which creates more traffic in the long run, defeating the stated purpose for countless road expansion projects across the country.

In short, the public understands that “induced demand” is real, even if they are not aware of the term itself. Today, when officials in the DC region are planning for at least 900 more lane miles of highway and arterial road expansion and amid the ongoing debate over high-occupancy toll lanes for 495/270 in Maryland and 495 through Alexandria, the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) urged officials to reconsider these plans. “CSG’s Induced Demand fact sheet for local, regional, and state officials – released today – makes clear the failures of road expansion,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“Induced demand is the widely documented phenomenon in which widening major roads and highways results in more driving (vehicle miles traveled) that generally cancels out any congestion-reduction benefits in as little as five to ten years,” said Bill Pugh, Senior Policy Fellow for CSG and author of the fact sheet which draws upon numerous national and international studies and includes local DC area examples.

“Unfortunately, elected officials in the DC region continue to propose over 900 lane miles of major road expansion and continue to ignore the reality that it won’t work,” said Schwartz. “They will end up wasting billions of tax dollars and make our quality of life worse, not better.”

The Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board is currently developing its Visualize 2050 regional “constrained” long-range transportation plan1 (the existing 2045 plan includes 900 lane miles in road expansion), and in Northern Virginia right now, counties and cities are submitting project applications for funding through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

CSG has previously shown in its “On the Wrong Road” report that the NVTAuthority’s “unconstrained” Transaction 2050 plan would add 1000 lane miles of roads in Northern Virginia alone and induce growth in driving at 1.5 to 3 times the rate of population growth in the outer suburbs. The NVTAuthority has allocated over half of its regional funding to road capacity expansion projects, even though the agency’s own Technology Strategic Plan acknowledges the reality of induced demand.

Stewart Schwartz
Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Editors note: Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].

Transurban: “Overnight travelers on the 95 Express Lanes are advised that the Express Lanes between Garrisonville Road and Old Courthouse Road will be closed nightly between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. from Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16. A single lane closure in this area will be in place on the Express Lanes between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. leading up to the full closure each night.”

“During the single lane closure between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m., the 95 Express Lanes will be traveling southbound. The Lanes are regularly closed between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on weeknights for southbound to northbound reversal. When the reversal is complete, the entry points near Courthouse Road and near Garrisonville Road will remain closed until 4 a.m. The southern most entry point into the 95 Express Lanes during this time will be near Dumfries Road.”

“Travelers are reminded to avoid distractions, reduce speeds, and stay alert for signage directing traffic.”

Press release: "Bolstering a relationship begun during the company’s clothing drive last winter, I-66 Express Mobility Partners (EMP) presented a check of $5000 to Prince William-based Boxes of Basics at a ceremony this morning at the not-for-profit organization’s offices in Manassas."

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

Transurban: “Overnight travelers on the 95 Express Lanes are advised that the Express Lanes between Garrisonville Road and Old Courthouse Road will be closed nightly between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. from Monday, June 5 through Friday, June 9. A single lane closure in this area will be in place on the Express Lanes between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. leading up to the full closure each night.”

“During the single lane closure between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m., the 95 Express Lanes will be traveling southbound. The Lanes are regularly closed between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on weeknights for southbound to northbound reversal. When the reversal is complete, the entry points near Courthouse Road and near Garrisonville Road will remain closed until 4 a.m. The southern most entry point into the 95 Express Lanes during this time will be near Dumfries Road.”

“To make traveling through the I-95 corridor in Stafford County easier and faster, the Fredericksburg Extension (Fred Ex) will pick up where the 95 Express Lanes currently end and will extend 10 miles south near Fredericksburg, VA. The lengthened lanes will connect with the 395 Express Lanes to create a connected corridor spanning nearly 50 miles from the Fredericksburg area to the D.C. line.”

The Interstate 95 and 395 E-ZPass Express Lanes operators announced changes to the reversal schedule ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

Higher than-average traffic volumes are expected for the weekend.

Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26: Mid-day reversal begins 30 minutes earlier at 10:30 a.m. Lanes open southbound by about 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 27: Standard Saturday schedule. Lanes run southbound until mid-day reversal at 2 p.m. Lanes open northbound by about 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 28: Standard Sunday schedule. Lanes run northbound, no reversal.

Monday, May 29: Lanes run northbound, no reversal.

Significant getaway traffic on I-95 is expected to begin as early as Wednesday, May 24. By taking the 95 Express Lanes, we anticipate drivers can save as many as 60 minutes.

This year, traffic will likely be heaviest on Thursday, May 25. If you’re headed south, the best times to travel are:

• Thursday, May 25: before 1 p.m. or after 7 p.m.
• Friday, May 26: before noon or after 6 p.m.

Beginning Tuesday, May 30, the 395 and 95 Express Lanes will follow the summer schedule, with mid-day reversals beginning at 10:30 a.m. on weekdays.

With upcoming summer travel plans and continuing construction on the 95 Express Lanes extension to Fredericksburg, drivers are asked to exercise extra caution throughout the corridor as project vehicles come and go from the median. With crews advancing critical elements of the project near fast-moving traffic, it is essentially all drivers maintain safe speeds and avoid any distractions.