495 NEXT Meeting Planned As Project Moves To Design, Construction

MCLEAN, VA — Transportation officials will provide updates on Virginia's 495 Express Lanes project and Maryland's 495-270 project at a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting comes after the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project received a "Finding of No Significant Impact" from federal authorities on its environmental assessment and approval for its interchange justification report That allows the project to move to the design and construction phase. The 495 NEXT project will extend the 495 Express Lanes from the I-495 and Dulles Toll Road interchange to the vicinity of the American Legion Bridge, about three miles.

That project will be coordinated with Maryland's project, which proposes I-495 and I-270 improvements, including into Virginia near the George Washington Memorial Parkway and across the American Legion Bridge into Maryland. The project was recently renamed Op Lanes Maryland from the former the I-495 & I-270 P3 Program. In August, an agreement with private partners was signed seeking to advance the first proposed phase. The first phase calls for a wider American Legion Bridge with two toll lanes in each direction from the George Washington Memorial Parkway across the bridge to I-270 and on I-270 to I-370. An environmental study underway would determine if that option would move forward.

The 495 NEXT meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 29. The Virginia Department of Transportation will give updates on the 495 NEXT Project, while the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will discuss the American Legion Bridge I-270 to I-70 Traffic Relief Plan.

Residents can join the virtual meeting through Webex, by phone (1-517-466-2023 US Toll; Meeting code: 1613318294## or 1-866-692-4530 US Toll Free; Meeting code: 1613318294##), or through YouTube.

See more information about the meeting and project at www.495northernextension.org.