Construction begins today on a project to extend 95 Express Lanes in Stafford County by 2.5 miles, seeking to reduce congestion and driver delay at the facility’s southern terminus near Garrisonville Road.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has partnered with 95 Express Lanes operator Transurban to add operational and safety improvements where the facility merges with the main lanes of I-95.
The approximate 2.5-mile extension will carry traffic beyond the flyover ramp where 95 Express Lanes currently end, just north of Exit 143 at Route 610 (Garrisonville Road).
When the project is complete:
– Northbound traffic in the main lanes will be able to enter 95 Express Lanes earlier at a new left entrance south of the Garrisonville Road overpass. The existing left entrance north of Garrisonville Road will remain.
– Southbound Express Lanes traffic heading to the Fredericksburg area and south will be able to continue past Garrisonville and merge about one mile south of Garrisonville Road.
What Drivers Can Expect
Most construction will occur in the median of I-95 and within existing right-of-way. New tolling and regulatory signs will be installed along the northbound lanes of I-95, south of Garrisonville Road.
Travel lanes will remain open during morning and afternoon rush hour. Work requiring lane closures will be performed during off-peak travel times.
Early construction is beginning in permitted areas, including the installation of temporary concrete barriers along the north- and southbound left shoulders of I-95, and tree clearing in the median. Drivers should expect reduced inside shoulders in both directions on I-95, and should stay alert for slow-moving construction vehicles entering and exiting the travel lanes.
Project Background
In May 2016, the Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a contract worth approximately $31.1 million to Branch Highways Inc., of Roanoke to design and construct the reversible extension of 95 Express Lanes at the southern terminus.
The southbound ramp is scheduled to open by early 2018, and the northbound ramp will open in summer 2018.
For more information, please visit the project page at http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/95_express_lanes_southern_terminus.asp
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