I-95 Express Lanes

Expanding HOV service, new travel choices

Project Background

The I-95 Express Lanes have been built from Garrisonville Road in Stafford 105-480x480_548_Nighttime_demo_Route_123_southbound_bridge_1_County to just north of Edsall Road on I-395 in Fairfax County. Now open to traffic on December 14, 2014, the I-95 Express Lanes provide a new option for motorists who choose to pay a toll to access congestion-free lanes with reliable travel times as well as expanded service for carpoolers, transit, motorcycles, and emergency responders who can use the lanes for free.  The facility offers the traveling public:

  • 29 miles of high occupancy toll lanes with new capacity and congestion pricing on the heavily traveled corridor
  • Fully electronic/dynamic tolling for predictable travel time on congestion-free network

Construction: On-time and On-budget

  • Project Cost – $925 million ($71 million state investment)
  • Expand HOV nine miles to Stafford County
  • New entry and exit pointsworker
  • New sound wall protection for adjacent communities
  • Added capacity on existing HOV system

Jobs/Economic Development

  • Supported 12,600 local jobs and $1.54 billion in economic activity in the region
  • Awarded over $190 million to small and disadvantaged businesses

Adds capacity, relieves bottlenecks, provides more choices

  • Building a nine-mile extension of existing HOV lanes from Dumfries to Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to alleviate worst bottleneck in the region
  • Expanding existing HOV lanes from two to three lanes for 14 miles between Prince William Parkway to the vicinity of Edsall Road on I-395
  • Improving existing two HOV lanes for six miles from Rt. 234 to Prince William Parkway

Creates a regional HOV/transit network with a seamless connection to 495 Express Lanes, Tysons Corner, Dulles Airport

  • Adding new access points to connect HOV lanes to Virginia-based destinations and major military sites
  • Adding two new HOV lanes from Dumfries to Route 610 in Garrisonville

Supports jobs, boosts local economy

  • Supports nearly 12,600 jobs and generates $1.54 billion in economic activity
  • Gets businesses moving again on I-95 by increasing flow of goods, employees and services
  • Reduces time and money lost every year due to traffic congestion
  • Helps address the impact of Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission with a new and improved HOV network

Status/Update

Project opened to traffic December 2014.  Average weekday toll revenue of nearly $103,000 and average weekday trips just over 37,000.

Project Links

expresslanes.com – Transurban’s 95 Express Lanes site with current information on operations.

Virginia Mega Projects 95 Express – VDOT’s project website with documentation including information on development and procurement, including the Comprehensive Agreement.

I-95 Express Lanes Lessons Learned

I-95 Express Lanes Best Practices