Virginia HOT lanes | |
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Highway names | |
Interstates | Interstate X (I-X) |
US Highways | U.S. Route X (US X) |
State | State Route X (SR X) or Virginia Route X (VA X) |
System links | |
Virginia HOT lanes refers to seven separate projects to add high-occupancy toll lane to highways in the U.S. state of Virginia.
The seven projects of Virginia HOT lanes include:
Location | Springfield Interchange to Georgetown Pike |
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Length | 13.09 mi (21.07 km) |
The 495 Express Lanes, also known as the E-ZPass Express Lanes, are a 14-mile (23 km) segment of I-495 extending from the Springfield Interchange to a point north of the Dulles Toll Road. The project began when Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) signed an agreement with Fluor Corporation and Transurban in April 2005 to create HO/T lanes between Springfield and Georgetown Pike. A contract was finalized on December 20, 2007, and construction began in the summer of 2008. [1]
During construction, the existing eight-lane (four lanes per carriageway) Beltway was widened to a 12-lane facility consisting of four general-purpose lanes per side and two high-occupancy/toll express lanes per side located to the left of the general-purpose lanes. Construction required replacement of more than 50 overpasses and bridges and the reconstruction of ten interchanges. [2] The project also added direct connections between the Capital Beltway and the I-95/I-395 HOV lanes. The project cost $1.4 billion and was controversial due to concerns over its cost-effectiveness and the environmental effects (such as surface runoff and use of parkland) of widening the Capital Beltway. [3]
The lanes opened on November 17, 2012. [4] Buses, motorcycles, and vehicles with three or more people are able to use the express lanes for free; other vehicles must pay a toll. The toll rates change dynamically according to traffic conditions, which in turn regulates demand for the lanes and keep them operating at high speeds. Tolls are collected solely via electronic means using E-ZPass transponders. No cash toll booths are offered. Motorcycles always travel for free and do not require a transponder. All other vehicles must have a transponder; in order to travel free, these vehicles need an E-ZPass Flex switchable transponder so the driver can indicate whether the vehicle qualifies for free passage. [5] There are 11 entry/exit points to the lanes. [6] State Police positioned at toll plazas are notified electronically if a vehicle is using the EZ-Pass Flex in HOV mode. If the officer suspects the vehicle does not meet the occupancy requirement, they will stop the vehicle and verify. First time HOV violators in Northern Virginia face a minimum $125 fine, with the fine doubling (and 3 demerit points added to the driver's record) for each subsequent offense. [7]
The speed limit on the lanes was increased from 55 mph to 65 mph on June 24, 2013, after a VDOT study concluded an increase would not pose a safety risk. [8] Transportation officials said they always expected the speed limit to be increased, but they needed to open the lanes with a 55 mph speed limit to observe how the lanes operated and to assess whether the limit could be increased. [9]
In March 2022, VDOT and Transurban commenced on a two and a half mile northern extension of the I-495 HOT lanes from VA 267 to just south of the American Legion Memorial Bridge (4-4 to 4-2-2-4 configuration). [10] A new flyover is to be constructed to connect eastbound VA 267 with the northbound HOT Lanes, and an exit and entry ramp are to be constructed to enable access from the HOT lanes to the George Washington Memorial Parkway. [11] The collector distributor lane on southbound I 495 from the parkway to VA 193 (Georgetown Pike) will be reconstructed, and the underpasses at VA 267 and Scott Run, and the overpasses at Lewinsville Road, Old Dominion Drive, VA 193, and the parkway will be rebuilt as well. VA 193 will be widened within the vicinity of its interchange with the Beltway. The express lanes are expected to be opened to the public in late 2025, and the project itself is expected to be completed in 2026. [10]
Location | Fredericksburg, Virginia to Interstate 395 |
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Length | 36.8 mi (59.2 km) |
The 95 Express Lanes project is a separate public-private partnership to construct and operate HO/T lanes on a 29-mile (47 km) portion of the existing reversible HOV-3 facility on I-95 and I-395. The project included construction of a nine-mile (14 km) extension of the reversible lanes from their previous southern terminus near Virginia State Route 234 to Garrisonville Road (Route 610) in Stafford County. The project also added a third reversible lane within the carriageway's existing footprint from the Prince William Parkway (Virginia State Route 294) to the project's northern terminus between Duke Street (Virginia State Route 236) and Edsall Road, just south of the City of Alexandria limits; to the north of this point, the reversible facility continues to operate as it did prior to the high-occupancy/toll project. [12] The 95 Express Lanes began HO/T operations on December 29, 2014. The project had opened two weeks earlier and operated under the older HOV rules until tolling began.
Road improvements included:
The original proposal was for the lanes to extend the entire length of the then-existing HOV facility, reaching the District of Columbia. The plan faced opposition from Arlington County, which houses a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) stretch of I-395; the county filed a lawsuit demanding an environmental review of the proposal and contending the lanes would create congestion on streets traveling to and from I-395. In February 2011, VDOT said the lawsuit created a "detrimental" delay to the project, with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton saying, "We can no longer wait to deliver congestion relief and new travel choices." [15] VDOT announced a modified plan that ends the HO/T lanes at Edsall Road in Fairfax County, avoiding the City of Alexandria and Arlington County. [15] [16] As a result, the three-lane portion of the reversible carriageway, and the HO/T rules, ended just north of Edsall Road. North of that point, the reversible lanes continued to operate under the pre-existing rules imposing an HOV-3 restriction during peak hours, allowing all traffic at other times, and not requiring an E-ZPass. Drivers paying the HO/T lane tolls with fewer than three people in a vehicle were not permitted to use the reversible lanes all the way into Washington during the morning rush hour and instead had to exit the reversible lanes at a new ramp north of Edsall Road constructed as part of the HO/T project; similarly, during the afternoon rush hour toll-payers with fewer than three people in a vehicle were not permitted to enter the reversible lanes north of that same location. These restrictions changed in November 2019 when the HO/T system was extended north along I-395 to the Potomac River.
Since the original portion of the HOV facility opened in the 1970s, an informal car pool system called "slugging" [17] has evolved around the reversible lanes. Drivers of cars with only one or two passengers stop at designated points and pick up strangers in order to meet the HOV-3 requirement. Members of the slugging community contended that if the HO/T lanes were extended all the way to Washington, passenger utilization of the reversible lanes might decline if drivers chose to pay HO/T tolls instead of picking up passengers from slug lines. The impact on the slug lines was not addressed by VDOT or its private sector vendors in the original proposal.
In November 2019, construction began to extend the I-95 HO/T lanes south from their original terminus at Exit 143, VA 610 near Aquia to Exit 133, US 17 near Fredericksburg. It also adds a collector distributor lane system from the express lanes southern terminus at the US 17 interchange to VA 3 in Fredericksburg, requiring the reconstruction of I-95's crossing at the Rappahannock River. The project also added three access points: one south of VA 610 in Garrisonville, one at Old Courthouse Road in Stafford, and one at US 17. express lanes are complete as of December 2023, and the rest of the project was completed in early December 2023. [18]
As of Summer 2022, construction is underway to construct a new ramp from the HO/T lanes to VA 642 (Opitz Boulevard) near Woodbridge. [19]
Location | Interstate 95 to Washington, D.C. |
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Length | 9.8 mi (15.8 km) |
The 395 Express Lanes project extended the I-95/I-395 HO/T lanes approximately eight miles (13 km) to the north from the "Turkeycock" ramp complex north of Edsall Road to the District of Columbia line. As with the I-95 project discussed above, construction involved widening the two existing reversible lanes to a three-lane reversible roadway and making changes to the interchange closest to the Pentagon in order to reduce traffic backups. In addition, the approach to the inbound (towards DC) Rochambeau Bridge span at the 14th Street Bridge (widely known locally as the "HOV bridge"), which was previously open to all traffic without restriction, was added to the HO/T operations at all times in order to prevent general-purpose traffic from congesting the northern terminus of the express lanes. Traffic leaving the District of Columbia is not subject to the same restriction and may use the express roadway toll-free up to, and including, the Eads Street/Pentagon exit. [20] [21]
The I-395 HO/T lanes operate in the same manner as the I-95 lanes. [20] [21] The express lanes opened on November 17, 2019. [22]
Location | Interstate 495 in Tysons to US 29 in Rosslyn |
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Length | 9.1 mi (14.6 km) |
The Interstate 66 Express lanes began operation on December 4, 2017. [23] Unlike the other HO/T projects, the I-66 Inside the Beltway project uses existing infrastructure to provide multimodal ways of travel along the nine-mile (14 km) segment between US-29 in Rosslyn and I-495 (the Capital Beltway). It allows drivers to pay the toll, use the road, Carpool or Vanpool with an E-ZPass Flex, or use Public Transportation. Hybrid vehicles, vehicles with Clean Special Fuel license plates, and people traveling to and from Dulles International Airport are no longer exempt from restrictions and must either pay the toll or satisfy the HOV rules. Motorcycles and vehicles carrying three or more people are eligible for free travel. [24] These lanes are free to all drivers during off-peak periods and weekends.
The peak periods of these lanes, to maintain a minimum average speed of 45 mph (70 km/h), are:
During peak periods, if drivers carpool with three or more people (HOV-3), they can travel on I-66 during rush hours for free with an E-ZPass Flex set to HOV mode to travel toll-free. [25]
This is the first time single-occupancy vehicles are permitted to use I-66 inside the Beltway during rush hours, as the road has been subject to HOV restrictions since it opened in 1982. [26]
Location | US 29 in Gainesville to Interstate 495 in Tysons |
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Length | 22.5 mi (36.2 km) |
I-66 Outside the Beltway is a project that started construction in 2018, which aims to ease congestion along the corridor, ease gridlock at its most heavily used interchanges, and provide more ways to travel along the corridor. The project was completed in 2022. It runs west from the Capital Beltway to US-29 in Gainesville for 22.5 miles (36.2 km). Changes that are made along the corridor are:
The new express lanes operate like the 495 Express Lanes, with E-ZPass required to use the lanes for all vehicles other than motorcycles. Carpoolers need an E-ZPass Flex and 3 or more people in the vehicle to travel free. However, large vehicles, such as trucks or vehicles with more than two axles (buses ride free) will be able to use the lanes at 3 times the price during non-rush hour periods and weekends, and 5 times the price during peak hours. [27] Large vehicles are still not permitted to use any other express lanes unless explicitly posted. [28] [29] [30]
Location | Interstate 564 in Norfolk to Interstate 264 near Virginia Beach |
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Length | 8.4 mi (13.5 km) |
The I-64 Express Lanes are a public-private partnership between TransCore and VDOT to convert the eight-mile (13 km) stretch of existing HOV lanes to rush-hour toll lanes.
Operating hours are:
Heavy trucks are prohibited on the express lanes, which are limited to vehicles with two axles; buses, motorcycles, and carpools may ride for free. Carpoolers also need an E-ZPass Flex for toll-free travel at all times.
VDOT is proposing to extend the I-64 Express Lanes past the I-264 interchange to near the US-258 interchange. VDOT has also proposed to build new express lanes in each direction on the stretch from the I-664 interchange before the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel to the I-564 interchange.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2017) |
Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washington, D.C., at the eastern terminus. The route parallels State Route 55 (SR 55) from its western terminus at I-81 to Gainesville, and US 29 from Gainesville to its eastern terminus in Washington. I-66 has no physical or historical connection to US 66, which was located in a different region of the United States.
State Route 267 is an expressway in the US state of Virginia. It consists of two end-to-end toll roads – the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway – as well as the non-tolled Dulles Access Road, which lies in the median of Dulles Toll Road and then extends east to Falls Church. The combined roadway provides a toll road for commuting and a free road for access to Washington Dulles International Airport. The three sections are operated and maintained by separate agencies: Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Access Road are maintained by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA); the Dulles Greenway is owned by TRIP II, a limited partnership, but is maintained by Atlas Arteria, an Australian company which owns the majority stake in the partnership. The Dulles Access Road's median hosts the Silver Line of the Washington Metro between the airport and Tysons.
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.
The Capital Beltway is a 64-mile (103 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase "inside the Beltway", used when referring to issues dealing with US federal government and politics. The highway is signed as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, and its southern and eastern half runs concurrently with I-95.
The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region of the same name in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States. It crosses the harbor of Hampton Roads at two locations on large four-laned bridge-tunnel facilities: the eastern half carries Interstate 64 and uses the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the western half carries Interstate 664 and uses the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. The beltway has the clockwise direction signed as the Inner Loop, and the counter-clockwise direction signed as the Outer Loop. The entire beltway, including the bridge-tunnels, is owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Interstate 295 (I-295) also known as the Anacostia Freeway, is a six-mile (9.7 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Maryland and in Washington, D.C.. It connects I-95/I-495 and Maryland Route 210 near the Potomac River to I-695 and District of Columbia Route 295 (DC 295) in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown Richmond. VDOT is responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the roads, bridges, and tunnels in the commonwealth. It is overseen by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which has the power to fund airports, seaports, rail, and public transportation.
Interstate 395 (I-395) in Virginia and Washington, D.C., is a 13.79-mile-long (22.19 km) spur route of I-95 that begins at an interchange with I-95 in Springfield and ends at an interchange with US Route 50 (US 50) in Northwest Washington, D.C. It passes underneath the National Mall near the US Capitol and ends at a junction with US 50 at New York Avenue, roughly one mile (1.6 km) north of the 3rd Street Tunnel. Despite its proximity to I-395 in Maryland, the route is unrelated and unconnected.
The Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, often shortened to Shirley Highway, consists of a 17.3-mile (27.8 km) portion of Interstates 95 and 395 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Shirley Highway was the first limited-access freeway in Virginia. Begun in 1941, the road was completed from U.S. Route 1 in Colchester, Virginia, just north of Woodbridge, to the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River between Virginia and Washington, D.C. in 1952.
State Route 76 is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as the Powhite Parkway, the state highway runs 13.04 miles (20.99 km) from SR 652 near Midlothian north to Interstate 195 (I-195) in Richmond. SR 76 connects SR 288, U.S. Route 60, and SR 150 in Chesterfield County with I-195 and SR 195 west of Downtown Richmond. The highway includes a pair of mainline barrier toll plazas and ramp toll plazas at most interchanges, all of which accept E-ZPass. SR 76 is maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in Chesterfield County and the Richmond Metropolitan Authority in the city of Richmond. The Richmond section of the freeway was constructed in the early 1970s; the highway was extended to its current terminus in Chesterfield County in the late 1980s.
State Route 895, also known as the Pocahontas Parkway and Pocahontas 895, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Virginia. It connects the junction of Interstate 95 and State Route 150 in Chesterfield County with Interstate 295 near Richmond International Airport in Henrico County, forming part of a southeastern bypass of Richmond. Due to a quirk in the evolution of the road, the long-planned designation of Interstate 895 could not be used.
E-ZPass Minnesota, formerly MnPass, is the brand name associated with a series of high occupancy toll lanes and electronic toll collection (ETC) system in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area of Minnesota. The lanes and the ETC system are owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and fully compatible with the multi-state E-ZPass network.
State Route 27 (SR 27) is a freeway in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States, known as Washington Boulevard. It was built during World War II to connect the Pentagon with U.S. Route 50 (US 50) and northern Arlington to the west and Washington, D.C., to the east. Its 2.54-mile (4.09 km) route parallels the southern boundaries of Arlington National Cemetery. At its southernmost point, Route 27 passes through a complex interchange with Interstate 395. called the "Mixing Bowl," although local motorists more recently use that term also to refer to the Springfield Interchange on the Capital Beltway in Springfield. It is an important commuter route as well as providing access to a number of military installations, the cemetery and national memorials. Because Route 27 is the closest road to the site of the September 11 attack on the Pentagon, the route has been designated the "9/11 Heroes Memorial Highway."
State Route 123 or Virginia State Route 123 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 29.27 miles (47.11 km) from U.S. Route 1 in Woodbridge north to the Chain Bridge across the Potomac River into Washington from Arlington. It goes by five local names. From its southern terminus to the Occoquan River Bridge, it is known as Gordon Boulevard. From the Occoquan River Bridge to the city of Fairfax it is known as Ox Road. From Fairfax until it enters the Town of Vienna, it is known as Chain Bridge Road. Then, as it passes through the Town of Vienna, it is known as Maple Avenue. After leaving the Town of Vienna, the name reverts to Chain Bridge Road, and continues this way until the intersection with I-495 in Tysons. Between Tysons and the George Washington Memorial Parkway, it is known as Dolley Madison Boulevard. After crossing over the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the name once again reverts to Chain Bridge Road and continues this way until the end of the road, at Chain Bridge. SR 123 is a partial circumferential highway in Northern Virginia that connects Woodbridge in eastern Prince William County with the independent city of Fairfax and the Fairfax County communities of Vienna, Tysons, and McLean, the last being the home of the National Counterterrorism Center and the Central Intelligence Agency. The state highway also connects all of the major highways that radiate from Washington, including Interstate 95 (I-95), I-66, US 29, US 50, SR 267, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Furthermore, SR 123 crosses another pair of circumferential highways, I-495 and the Fairfax County Parkway, and SR 7, a major northwest–southeast highway through Northern Virginia. The state highway is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length.
The Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl, is the interchange of Interstate 95, Interstate 395, and Interstate 495 in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. The interchange is located at exit 57 on the Capital Beltway, exit 170 on I-95, and exit 1 on I-395.
Interstate 95 (I-95) runs 179 miles (288 km) within the commonwealth of Virginia between its borders with North Carolina and Maryland. I-95 meets the northern terminus of I-85 in Petersburg and is concurrent with I-64 for three miles (4.8 km) in Richmond. Although I-95 was originally planned as a highway through Washington, D.C., it was rerouted along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway concurrent with I-495. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 utilized most of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, a former toll road. In addition to Richmond, the route also runs through the medium-sized cities of Emporia, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria.
Interstate 64 (I-64) in the US state of Virginia runs east–west through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region, for a total of 299 miles (481 km). From the West Virginia state line to Chesapeake, it passes through the major cities of Lexington, Staunton, Charlottesville, the state capital of Richmond, Newport News, Hampton, and Norfolk. It is notable for crossing the mouth of the harbor of Hampton Roads on the Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT), the first bridge–tunnel to incorporate artificial islands, concurrent with U.S. Route 60 (US 60). Also noteworthy is a section through Rockfish Gap, a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was equipped with an innovative system of airport-style runway lighting embedded into the pavement to aid motorists during periods of poor visibility due to fog or other conditions.
A high-occupancy toll lane is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a variable fee that is adjusted in response to demand. Unlike toll roads, drivers have an option to use general purpose lanes, on which a fee is not charged. Express toll lanes, which are less common, operate along similar lines, but do not exempt high-occupancy vehicles.
The Franconia–Springfield Parkway is a short east–west spur near the south end of the Fairfax County Parkway, leading east through Springfield and serving the Franconia–Springfield Metro station. While SR 286 has access to the main lanes of I-95, SR 289 interchanges with the reversible HOV lanes in the median of I-95.