(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) A group of McLean residents opposed to the extension of the I-495 toll lanes past their neighborhoods have turned to the courts in a bid to halt the project, now in its second year of construction.
The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Citizens Association filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Thursday (March 16) alleging that major revisions to the project design violated federal law, resulting in “significant on-going environmental harms” to residents.
(Updated at 2:50 p.m. on 3/16/2023) Virginia’s extension of the I-495 Express Lanes past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean remains on track for a 2025 opening, even as its counterpart across the Potomac River faces another setback in its efforts to widen the Capital Beltway.
Private toll lanes operator Transurban pulled out of Maryland’s project to add toll lanes on its side of the Beltway and replace the American Legion Bridge on Friday (March 10), citing “significant delays to environmental approvals, changing political landscape and environmental lawsuits that remain unresolved.”
Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation have kicked off construction to widen a 1.5-mile stretch of Route 29 near Centreville.
Though there will be a ceremonial groundbreaking today (Wednesday), construction on the project began Feb. 9 to add two lanes to the roadway between Union Mill Road and Buckleys Gate Drive.
The overhaul of the Nutley Street and I-66 interchange is nearing completion, promising an end to the unpredictability that has characterized trips near the Vienna Metro station over the past three years.
Two new roundabouts at the interchange are scheduled to open tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, the Virginia Department of Transportation recently announced, cautioning drivers to yield to traffic in the loops when entering.
Work has begun on repairs to the George Washington Memorial Parkway’s bridge over Pimmit Run in McLean.
Construction crews are repairing façades of the structures that support the Pimmit Run Bridge as part of the ongoing project to rehabilitate the parkway’s northern section from the Capital Beltway (I-495) to Sprout Run Parkway in Arlington, according to the National Park Service.
(Updated at 3:45 p.m. on 1/5/2023) The search is still on for a new site to host a cell tower in McLean that has to be removed to make room for the widening Capital Beltway.
The monopole, which is owned by American Cell Towers and supports AT&T and T-Mobile service, was officially decommissioned on Dec. 9, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The new year will ring in the beginning of a new construction project in Herndon.
Nearly $23 million in improvements to East Spring Street are slated to begin Tuesday (Jan. 3), according to the Town of Herndon.
A portion of the new Hunter Mill Road bridge over Colvin Run near Vienna is expected to open for traffic this week.
Vehicles will shift onto one lane of the new bridge between Crowell Road (Route 675) and Cobble Mill Road starting around 2 p.m. tomorrow (Friday), the Virginia Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
The project to extend the I-495 Express Lanes north toward the American Legion Bridge has been under construction for half a year now, but some McLean residents remain as determined as ever to fight the Beltway’s encroachment into their neighborhoods.
Residents along Live Oak Drive in particular have consistently argued that they will face the most disruptions from the I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) without getting the congestion relief benefits touted by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Updated at 11:40 a.m. on 12/9/2022 — The Virginia State Police says it located the Chevrolet Malibu involved in the I-66 hit-and-run in a local public parking garage after receiving a phone tip last night (Thursday).
“The Malibu has been seized as evidence and is being processed,” police said. “The temporary tags displayed on the vehicle do not belong to the vehicle. The investigation into identifying and locating the driver of the Malibu remains ongoing at this time.”
