Drivers who inch through a twice-daily bottleneck on Interstate 95 near Occoquan, Virginia, will soon get some relief, with the addition of an extra travel lane.
Thursday marked the ribbon-cutting for the I-95 Southbound Auxiliary Lane project, which converts a mile-and-a-half of the existing shoulder to a travel lane. The project will provide a new lane of travel, between Va. Route 123 and Prince William Parkway.
The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates southbound I-95 averages approximately 80,000 vehicles a day in the area.
“This piece of road has been tormenting people on both sides of the Occoquan for almost two decades,” said State Sen. Scott Surovell, whose district encompasses portions of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties.
While Surovell joked he’s been called “Senator Bottleneck,” he says the backups on I-95 are debilitating.
“It backs up in the morning; backs up at night; backs up Monday through Friday; backs up Saturday, backs up Sunday,” Surovell summarized.
State Sen. Jeremy McPike, whose district covers the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, as well as much of Prince William County, says he’s one of the daily commuters who often does nothing but burn gas in the bottleneck.
“This stretch literally costs Virginians 2 million hours” of wasted time, said McPike.
Adding to the traffic woes, I-95 isn’t merely a major commuter route for people in the region — the interstate also carries car and truck traffic for people going up and down the east coast.
“The visiting traffic is increasing on a daily basis, to compound the problem,” said State Del. Luke Torian, whose district is Prince William County.
VDOT says the auxiliary lane will open to commuters sometime in May.
VDOT added that the $23.7 million project also includes a new shoulder and relocated noise walls. Crews will also replace roadway lighting, install or upgrade guardrails and build new retaining walls.
