Make Your Voice Heard on Widening of I-66

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A set of public hearings is starting up next week in which commuters and homeowners can weigh in on Virginia’s plans to widen Interstate 66 from Haymarket to the Beltway.

State officials are trying to figure out how to pay for the massive $2.1 billion project, which would add two high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in each direction on I-66. Plans for the 25-mile project also call for high-frequency bus service and flyover ramps to connect the express toll lanes with commuter parking lots. Construction would begin in 2017.

The project is expected to relieve rush-hour traffic congestion on I-66, a highly crowded commuter artery. But residents living in the I-66 corridor have raised concerns about plans to demolish their homes to make room for the widening, according to WRC-TV NBC Channel 4 and other media outlets.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has scheduled a public hearing on Tuesday, June 2, in Haymarket to tell the public about the environmental impact of the widening. The hearing will be at Battlefield High School (cafeteria), 15000 Graduation Drive.

Other upcoming public hearings are scheduled in Fairfax County. All hearings are scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Here’s the schedule for the Fairfax County hearings:

• Wednesday, May 27 - VDOT Northern Virginia District Office – Potomac/Occoquan Rooms, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax.
• Thursday, May 28 - Oakton High School (cafeteria), 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna.
• Wednesday, June 3 - Bull Run Elementary School (cafeteria), 15301 Lee Highway, Centreville.

For more information on VDOT’s Transform66 project, click here.

Aubrey Lane, Virginia’s transportation secretary, said Tuesday that the state could save up to $1 billion by building the project itself rather than turning to a public-private partnership, according to WJLA-TV ABC Channel 7 and other media outlets.

A public-private partnership built the HOT lanes on the Beltway (I-495) and on I-95 from Springfield down to Stafford County.

Layne said that no final decision has been made on how the I-66 project will be funded, but he emphasized that a public-private partnership must provide a good deal for taxpayers.