Governor Announces I-66 Express Lanes, Rapid Bus Service, Park-and-Ride Network

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday a $2-3 billion initiative to transform congested Interstate 66 into "a multi-modal facility" that will feature express lanes, rapid bus service and a park-and-ride network from the Capital Beltway to Haymarket. 

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, these proposed improvements would not eliminate the possibility of Metro, light rail or bus rapid transit within the right of way on I-66 in the future.

“Interstate 66 is broken. Commuters are stuck in traffic, limited in the travel choices they can make and unable to predict how long their trip will take on any given day,” said Governor McAuliffe. “Giving Virginians more choices and a better, safer travel experience on I-66 is one of my top priorities, and today I am proud to announce the beginning of that effort.” 

VDOT worked with the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships, and Fairfax and Prince William counties to develop a plan to reduce congestion on I-66 by increasing travel capacity and giving travelers more choices.

"Today we kick off 17 months of rigorous environmental study and robust community involvement. By the end of 2016 our plan is to complete environmental work, identify funding sources, receive federal approval, and move forward on a plan to turn I-66 into the efficient, multi-modal corridor that Virginia’s economy needs," Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne said.

Under the plan, I-66 would provide:

• Three regular lanes in each direction; 
• Two express lanes in each direction (a existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane would be converted to an express lane and one new express lane would be constructed)
• High-frequency bus service with predictable travel times
• Direct access between the express lanes and new or expanded commuter lots

Motorists can drive free in the regular lanes or pay a toll to use the express lanes, which will be congestion-based; carpools of three or more persons and buses would ride free.

Like 495 and 95, the current HOV-2 requirement will ultimately be raised to HOV-3 to be consistent with the region’s Constrained Long Range Plan which calls for HOV-3 by 2020.

"Last year, 19 private-sector firms offered recommendations for solutions to improve Interstate 66 in response to a Request for Information (RFI) issued by OTP3. The RFI sought innovative and creative solutions to ease the congested I-66 corridor from the Capital Beltway to Route 15 in Haymarket, with an emphasis on providing a multi-modal solution and minimizing right of way impacts," VDOT said in a statement.