WASHINGTON – Construction is now underway to move the bottleneck at the southern end of the Interstate 95 Express Lanes.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said construction work on the 2.2-mile extension of the toll lanes, which are free with three or more people in the car and an E-ZPass Flex, will mainly be in the median and on the shoulders of I-95.
In early 2018, the southbound portion of the extension beyond Route 610 (Garrisonville Road) is scheduled to open. The new northbound ramp for the single reversible lane is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018.
The existing entrances and exits for the lanes will also remain in place.
The initial construction work includes temporary concrete barriers along shoulders and tree clearing in the median.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the $31 million design and construction contract this spring.
Separately, Virginia is planning to eventually extend the Express Lanes several miles farther south to connect with a bridge over the Rappahannock River to the area around Virginia State Route 3 in Fredericksburg. That extension would be many more years away, but the new bridge is moving forward.
