FAIRFAX, VA – With construction activities on the new express lanes increasing and now concentrated in the median along the project corridor, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and its 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project partner, Transurban, have launched a driver safety campaign.
The awareness campaign emphasizes to drivers that active roadway construction and hundreds of workers are directly adjacent to Beltway traffic. The “Closer Than You Think” campaign will leverage ads that will run on radio, as well as various social media platforms, throughout September and into October as “back to work and school” traffic resumes and drivers adjust to post-summer travel patterns.
As crews are now actively building four new express lanes (two lanes in each direction) in the center portion of the roadway, slowing down and remaining alert when driving through the 495 NEXT work zone remains critical to ensure the safety of travelers and workers alike.
“VDOT, along with our project partner and contractor partners, is laser-focused on finishing the 495 Express Lanes northern extension – and doing so safely – so that travelers in Northern Virginia and the larger area can begin experiencing relief on this heavily congested section of the Beltway,” commented VDOT Megaprojects Director Michelle Shropshire. “Our most important priority is the safety of people traveling through and working within this corridor. We are asking drivers to partner with us in keeping each other safe by slowing down, staying alert and eliminating distractions when traveling through the 495 NEXT project area.”
“At Transurban, our number one focus is always safety, both for our crews and for drivers. That is why we are proud to partner with VDOT to promote roadway safety as our team advances 495 NEXT,” said Beau Memory, President, Transurban North America. “Throughout the construction corridor, teams will be working very close to active roadways; this campaign will help remind travelers about the importance of staying alert and cautious behind the wheel – because it is all of our responsibility to keep everyone safe.”
Work on the new express lanes will be ongoing through fall during daytime and nighttime hours, as well as over some weekends. Construction activities include:
- Demolishing retired pavement, jersey barriers and old piers in the highway median for the replaced bridges at Live Oak Drive, Georgetown Pike and Old Dominion Drive
- Building new drainage infrastructure
- Paving new express lanes and installing lane markings
- Finishing construction of new express lanes ramps
- Installing roadside and overhead signs and new tolling and traffic management systems infrastructure and equipment
In addition to building the express lanes, crews are working to complete the three Beltway bridges that were rebuilt, as well as any finishing work that remains on the four Beltway bridges that were rehabilitated. Work is also underway to finish the installation of new, upgraded noise walls along the corridor.
About the 495 NEXT project
The 495 NEXT project is extending the existing 495 Express Lanes north by two-and-a-half miles from the Dulles Corridor Interchange to the George Washington Memorial Parkway Interchange in the vicinity of the American Legion Bridge. The project is providing new and improved connections at the Dulles Corridor and George Washington Memorial Parkway. The new, extended express lanes are scheduled to open by the end of this year.
Other project benefits, which are planned to be open and/or complete in 2026, include four miles of new bicycle and pedestrian connections including a shared-use path parallel to I-495 from Lewinsville Road to near Live Oak Drive, revegetation, and creation of a new Scott’s Run Nature Preserve parking area.
The $660 million 495 NEXT project is a public-private partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Transurban, operator of the existing 495 Express Lanes. Lane Construction is the design-build contractor for the project.
