New road works close to Washington DC will help reduce congestion – image courtesy of © Arvind Balaraman, Dreamstime.com
A US$441 million road project in the US state of Virginia will help reduce chronic congestion in the capital, Washington DC. The project is for the 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) and will be carried out by Lane Construction, the US subsidiary of the Webuild Group. The project was awarded to Lane Construction by the Virginia Department of Transportation and the project will connect to the Capital Beltway when complete.
The design and build project will extend the I‐495 Express Lanes, helping to tackle severe congestion as well as improving safety along I‐495. This is one of the most congested traffic corridors in the US and suffers delays at peak periods. The work is due to start in early 2022, and should be completed in 2025. The project is one of several road and bridge works Lane Construction is handling in the US at present.
Commissioned as a Public‐Private Partnership (PPP) by Transurban for the Virginia Department of Transportation, the 495 NEXT will connect to the future I‐495 (Capital Beltway) in Maryland to improve mobility and connectivity in the area, including an expansion of the American Legion Bridge between Virginia and Maryland. According to the client, the work will help address the travel needs of a growing population in the Washington, DC area.
For the 495 NEXT project Lane Construction will extend the express lanes for 4km from south of Old Dominion Drive northward. to the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The firm will add two High Occupancy Travel (HOT) lanes in either direction and this is expected to cut travel times by 24 minutes during peak commute times.
