Controversial plans to add new express lanes onto I-495 are heading to public review starting today (Monday).
The plan is to extend the I-495 Express Lanes from Springfield into Prince George’s County, Maryland. The study area spans approximately 11 miles along the southern edge of I-495 — the last section of the Capital Beltway in Virginia without toll lanes, with construction underway on a northern extension in McLean.
The first of four Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) public hearings on the new express lanes proposal is planned for tonight at Thomas Edison High School (5801 Franconia Road) in Rose Hill. The meeting will feature an open house at 6 p.m. and a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m., followed by a public comment session.
According to VDOT, the public hearings will be held at:
- Monday, June 2, Thomas A. Edison High School (Cafeteria), 5801 Franconia Rd., Alexandria, VA
- Wednesday, June 4, Oxon Hill High School (Auditorium), 6701 Leyte Dr. Oxon Hill, MD
- Monday, June 9, West Potomac High School (Cafeteria), 6500 Quander Road in Belle Haven, VA
- Wednesday, June 11, Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center, 1108 Jefferson St., Alexandria, VA
The public meetings are part of the final parts of the environmental assessment, one of the first stages in project development.
With its I-495 Southside Express Lanes study, VDOT identified 10 options for relieving congestion on the Beltway before pushing two forward as “build” alternatives — one with a single toll lane in each direction and one with two lanes — as well as one “no-build” alternative.
VDOT’s preferred alternative would involve building two new express lanes in each direction, as well as new bicycle and pedestrian connections and paths linking Franconia, Alexandria, Huntington and Oxon Hill, according to a presentation that will be shared at the public hearings.
VDOT said the preferred alternative would accommodate new express bus service from west or central Prince George’s County to Tysons, if it can be delivered as a public-private partnership. The route was one of seven seven mid-term transit service improvements recommended by a study conducted by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
The proposal would also add faster, more reliable express lanes for buses and carpools to travel toll-free, and for drivers who choose to pay a toll.
The express lanes would use existing, unused space on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that had been set aside for future HOV, bus transit or rail use. The project also notes that part of the express lanes can be converted to rail lines if Metro is ever expanded across the bridge.
Preliminary cost estimates suggest the project could require $1.4 to $1.6 billion to design and build.
When getting an update on the study this spring, Fairfax County supervisors expressed concern that the project could create spillover traffic into surrounding neighborhoods. Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said residents around Mount Vernon weren’t convinced the new toll lanes would make their lives better.
The project is scheduled to go to the Commonwealth Board of Transportation for approval in September, with regional planning boards voting on the project late this year and a federal decision on the preferred alternative sometime in early 2026.
