Pre-construction work underway for HOT Lanes

By staff reports
Published: April 28, 2008

FAIRFAX — In anticipation of construction activities along the Capital Beltway in Virginia, four areas are being cleared to house supplies and equipment for construction of the high occupancy toll lanes, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced Monday. 

Construction of the 14-mile project is expected to begin in mid-July and take five years to complete.

Crews are clearing brush and trees and adding gravel on VDOT-owned property along the Beltway at Va. 193 (Georgetown Pike), Va. 123 (Chain Bridge Road), Interstate 66 and Va. 620 (Braddock Road), according to a news release. 

The Georgetown Pike staging area will be fenced and include office trailers for project workers.  The staging areas will be used until the HOT lanes are completed in 2012. VDOT will work with the community to ensure that each area is operated and restored in an acceptable and environmentally sensitive manner once the project is completed.

The Beltway HOT lanes will be constructed under a $1.4 billion private, federal and state funding partnership. Two new lanes will be added in each direction from Springfield to just north of the Dulles Toll Road.  Under a comprehensive agreement signed in December 2007, the project will deliver the first-ever dedicated HOV and transit services to the Beltway.

Since late January, VDOT and its partners have been meeting with dozens of homeowner associations and businesses on the project plans and impacts. Communities and businesses may schedule a project briefing or get answers to questions by calling toll free 877-495-VDOT (8368).

VDOT and its project partners will be issuing weekly, advanced notices of lane closures and other major construction activities.

For more information on the project, visit www.virginiaDOT.org or www.virginiahotlanes.com