The $660 million northern extension of Virginia’s I-495 Express Lanes project is set to open this month, bringing more capacity and new connections to the 2.5-mile interstate corridor.
Drivers will find two new tolled express lanes in each direction between the Dulles Corridor Interchange and the George Washington Memorial Parkway Interchange. The new express lanes access both interchanges and are aimed at improving traffic flow in the heavily congested Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The expansion connects with the original 14-mile 495 Express Lanes just north of Tysons and extends north toward the Maryland border.
The same dynamic pricing – which fluctuates to manage demand and maintain highway speeds – seen on the full 94-mile network of northern Virginia express lanes will be enacted. Vehicles with three or more passengers and buses can use the express lanes for free.
Management of the extension is a private-public partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation and Australia-based partner/operator Transurban, which also operates the 41-mile I-95 express lanes and 8-mile I-395 express lanes in Virginia. The lead design-build contractor was Lane Construction, and Shirley Contracting built the improvements and express lanes access at the I-495 and Dulles Corridor Interchange.
Opening the north extension will, according to Lane Construction, save the average driver 24 minutes of travel time and reduce overall crashes by 20%.
Remaining work on the northern extension, set to formally conclude in mid-2026, includes the installation of new bridges with sidewalks across the Beltway, rehabilitation of four bridges, new noise walls, new stormwater management systems and 4 miles of new bicycle and pedestrian connections. Work on the northern extension began in March 2022.
The original 14-mile 495 Express Lanes project – consisting of dual, tolled lanes operating on a portion of Washington’s Capital Beltway – opened in November 2012 and is 50% owned by Transurban.
