tolls | FFXnow

Virginia officials promise traffic relief with new I-495 toll lanes opening this weekend

Published November 21, 2025 at 3:30PM

Officials cut a ribbon to celebrate the impending opening of new I-495 Express Lanes (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After more than three years of construction, the new Capital Beltway toll lanes in McLean will welcome their first drivers on Sunday (Nov. 23), just in time for next week’s Thanksgiving travel rush.

Though the start of tolling operations has been delayed by a day due to expected rain tonight (Friday), Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other officials gathered this morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in anticipation of the occasion at the Hyatt Regency hotel at Tysons Corner Center.

News

UPDATED: New I-495 toll lanes on track to open before Thanksgiving

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 30, 2025 at 1:45PM | Updated November 10, 2025 at 5:12PM

Construction continues on the new toll lanes on I-495 approaching the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Update — The new I-495 Express Lanes are on track to open ahead of schedule on Saturday, Nov. 22, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced on Nov. 10.

In addition to two toll lanes in each direction, the opening will include dedicated ramps from the Dulles Toll Road to the northbound express lanes and between the express lanes and the GW Parkway.

News

Key vote on I-495 Southside express lanes project postponed to 2026 or beyond

By Scott McCaffrey

Published October 15, 2025 at 3:30PM

Traffic heading west on I-495 in Alexandria near South Van Dorn Street (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A key regional planning body voted today (Wednesday) to defer until at least 2026 any further consideration of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan to extend express lanes on the south side of the Capital Beltway (I-495) across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and into Maryland.

“The project is simply not ready,” said Eric Olson, a member of the Prince George’s County Council who sits on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board (TPB).

News

Critics press their concerns as vote on I-495 Southside Express toll lanes plan looms

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 30, 2025 at 2:45PM

Proposed route of I-495 Southside Express Lanes project (via VDOT)

Despite a full-court press from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the future of its plan to extend express lanes on the south side of the Capital Beltway (I-495) remains up in the air as the deadline for a decision looms.

The project to add 11 miles of toll roads connecting Springfield with Prince George’s County over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is a “critical” piece of transportation planning, a top VDOT official told members of the D.C. region’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) on July 16.

News

MWAA: Dulles Toll Road seeing spring and summer rebound in vehicle trips, revenue

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 22, 2025 at 11:45AM

Westbound Dulles Toll Road approaching Reston Town Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Back-to-office directives and increased enforcement targeting “backtracking” through the airport have led to higher-than-projected use of the Dulles Toll Road in recent months, after a rocky start to the year.

“Not just the money, but the cars going through is improving,” Kate Hanley, a Virginia representative on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors, said.

News

Fairfax County leaders still uneasy with VDOT’s I-495 Southside Express Lanes plan

By Scott McCaffrey

Published June 26, 2025 at 9:15AM

Proposed route of I-495 Southside Express Lanes project (via VDOT)

Fairfax County leaders remain uneasy about the Virginia Department of Transportation’s proposed I-495 Southside Express Lanes project and the possible impact of widening the highway on residents of neighboring communities.

The Board of Supervisors agreed to send a five-page letter to Virginia Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III on Tuesday (June 24) detailing its concerns.

News

VDOT leans toward two toll lanes on I-495 across Woodrow Wilson Bridge

By Vernon Miles

Published June 2, 2025 at 1:45PM

Eastbound traffic on the Capital Beltway (I-495) near Rose Hill (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

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.

News

D.C. region leaders still not sold on I-495 Southside Express Lanes proposal

By Scott McCaffrey

Published April 16, 2025 at 11:15AM | Updated April 17, 2025 at 1:17PM

I-495 "Southside Express" HOT-lanes proposal (via Virginia Department of Transportation)

A recent briefing from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) did little to quell questions and concerns from regional leaders about a proposal to extend the I-495 Express Lanes from Springfield into Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The Southside Express Lanes project is a “complex and lengthy” undertaking, VDOT Northern Virginia District Megaprojects Director Michelle Shropshire told the D.C. region’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday).

Countywide

Toll breaks for Virginia drivers? Lawmakers weigh costly proposal

By Nathaniel Cline / Virginia Mercury

Published January 31, 2025 at 9:00AM

A sign displays the current cost of using the I-66 Express Lanes from Vaden Drive in Oakton (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

For Virginians who spend hundreds of dollars on tolls each month, relief could be on the horizon — if lawmakers can stomach the price tag.

A proposal to ease toll burdens for frequent drivers and low-income residents cleared a key hurdle in the state legislature this week, as a House Transportation subcommittee advanced the measure for further review.

News

County board split over possible I-495 toll lanes from Springfield into Maryland

By Scott McCaffrey

Published November 4, 2024 at 3:45PM

I-495 "Southside Express" HOT-lanes proposal (via Virginia Department of Transportation)

Virginia’s plan to widen I-495 with privately financed, toll-based express lanes in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge corridor continues to get a decidedly mixed reception from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

On one side of the debate, Board Chairman Jeff McKay believes the project is “essential,” but he conceded at a meeting of the board’s transportation committee last Tuesday (Oct. 29) that “not everyone feels that way.”