Express Toll Lanes on Schedule for December Completion

Manassas Park motorists who commute to Fairfax County and parts of Maryland  will soon have the option of a faster drive, thanks to the new Express Lanes on the Beltway.

  The construction period for the Express Lanes (formerly HOT Lanes) down the middle of the I-495 Beltway has remained on schedule, Dranesville Supervisor John Foust said in his newsletter.

Lanes now under construction down the middle of the Beltway from Springfield to Tysons Corner are now 90 percent complete and the new travel lanes are set to open to traffic in December, Foust reported.

The 14-mile project, which costs $2 billion, includes the replacement of nearly a dozen bridges over the Beltway including the Lewinsville Road bridge in McLean.

Motorists on the Express Lanes will need to have an E-Z Pass transponder mounted on their windshields. Fees for driving the Express Lanes will be deducted automatically by monitors mounted over the roadway.

This process allows drivers to maintain speed and eliminates delays caused by motorists queuing to pass through a toll plaza. The Express Lanes’ objective is to provide users with the opportunity to drive the Beltway at a consistent 45-plus mph speed. To make this happen, the fees, described as “dynamic pricing," are adjusted based on the number of cars using the Express Lanes.

When drivership is high, prices are raised, discouraging additional drivers from entering the lanes and enabling existing drivers to maintain the 45 mph or higher speed.

A new E-Z Pass Flex transponder will allow buses and drivers with three or more passengers to press a switch on the transponder to indicate the vehicle is an HOV and thereby entitled to travel the Express Lanes toll free.

As we approach the December completion date for the Express Lanes, area drivers can expect to see an increased educational campaign on their use, access points and how to obtain the appropriate E-Z Pass transponder.

The Express Lanes (formerly HOT Lanes) are nearing completion also means the end of  the Transurban/Fluor Community Grant Program.

There are only three funding cycles left during which neighborhood and civic groups can apply for grants to contribute toward the costs of their community ventures.

For example, homeowner associations representing areas immediately adjacent to the Beltway construction areas can file grant applications to subsidize the cost of new landscaping for their neighborhood. Schools and community groups are also invited to apply for grants to support for their projects and events.
The final funding cycles will conclude June 30, September 30 and December 31. Grant applications can be found at 495expresslanes.com/grant-program.

The project is a private-public partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and Transurban-Fluor.

Transurban leadership, local elected officials and other project members break ground on the 495 Express Lanes project in the summer of 2008.