Residents Express Concerns over I-66 Widening

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Residents review VDOT maps of I-66 road expansion. Residents review VDOT maps of I-66 road expansion.

Residents expressed their concerns, fears and ideas about the future of commuting in western Prince William County at a public discussion Tuesday, regarding plans to improve Interstate 66, a main vein into the heart of the federal government.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plans to widen a 26-mile stretch of I-66 starting at the Capital Beltway and moving westward to U.S. 15 in Haymarket, the location of VDOT’s community meeting on the matter held June 2 at Battlefield High School.

VDOT officials said there are two proposed options for the plan: one that includes a median for possible rail and mass transit operations, but would require more space and right-of-way land purchases in some areas, or the slightly cheaper option that does not include a median for future mass transit operations.

The plan also calls for, more commuter park-and-ride lots— three of which are slated for Manassas, Gainesville and Haymarket— regular bus service as well as three regular lanes of travel and two express lanes.

Details and renderings of the project can be found at VDOT’s site, transform66.org

While many commended VDOT’s plan, many also expressed angst over the express lanes that would function much like the new express lanes on Interstate 495, which feature variable pricing that adjusts in response to demand. 

High-Occupancy Toll, also known as HOT lanes, can get expensive for the commuter, possibly creating a “shadow mortgage” for commuter families, according to one resident who spoke at the public meeting.

Resident pack the room at Battlefield High School Tuesday. Resident pack the room at Battlefield High School Tuesday.

The extra expensive could leave Prince William County families with less discretionary income, which could cause the local economy to suffer.

Gainesville resident James Latimer says he’s been commuting to Fairfax for work for the past 10 years.

“I wonder who we are helping by having these HOT lanes,” said Latimer, who sometimes uses the ones on 495 to travel to Bethesda, Maryland for business.

Latimer and others said they are against using the Public-Private Transportation Act, also known as P3, to tackle the project’s $2 to $3 billion price tag.

P3 allows private companies to pay some of the cost of the project instead of the state shouldering all of the costs.  The private investors would earn money through tolls paid over several years.

“The heartburn is the cost … stop selling us in 100 year clips to private companies,” Latimer said.

Greg Scott, a Warrenton resident, attended Tuesday’s meeting as a member of the 66 Alliance, a grassroots organization started by commuters who want HOT lanes scratched from the I-66 improvement project.

In his personal estimate, HOT lanes on I-66 would cost as much as $30 a day and increase him commute time, Scott told the crowd Tuesday.

Brendon Shaw, Director of Government Relations for the Prince William County Chamber of Commence, said Tuesday that P3 is the best way to finance, as it will decrease debt for VDOT.

Bristow resident and avid bicyclist Rick Holt said Tuesday that the plan should include protected bike lanes.

Others echoed Holt’s sentiments.

“Traffic goes so slow, you can actually bike faster than you can drive. While they are at it, VDOT should just widen I-66 all the way out to Interstate 81," said Jonathan Billowiss, local resident who attended the meeting, predicting that in the next 60 years, urban sprawl would have extended that far west.

Still others pushed for VDOT to invest in light rail or a Metro system expansion, the latter bringing business and industry out to Prince William County instead of county residents commuting east to them.

A decision about how the financing of the I-66 improvement project will be made by November, according to a VDOT press release issued on Tuesday.

The agency is still accepting public comments about the project, by email and via its online comment form, both found here on VDOT’s website.

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