Contractor For 495 NEXT Express Lanes Project Chosen

MCLEAN, VA — A contractor has been selected for construction of the 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension with construction expected to begin in 2022.

Lane Construction Corporation was selected as the contractor to build the approximately 2.5-mile extension of the Interstate 495 Express Lanes from south of Old Dominion Drive north to the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The two high occupancy travel (HOT) lanes in each direction are expected to be completed in 2025.

The $441 million contract is in partnership with Transurban, the toll operator that already manages Express Lanes on I-495, I-95 and I-395. Lane has been the contractor for other recent Transurban projects, most recently being the $336 million 395 Express Lanes project. It also worked on the 29-mile 95 Express Lanes from Alexandria to Stafford and 14-mile 495 Express Lanes from the Springfield interchange to the Dulles Toll Road interchange.

"Lane is looking forward to its continued partnership with Transurban to further enhance the traveler’s experience in one of the most congested travel areas in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region," stated Mark Schiller, President and CEO of The Lane Construction Corporation.

Virginia's 495 NEXT project is one of two projects seeking to add Express Lanes to the bottleneck around the American Legion Bridge between Fairfax County and Montgomery County. The project is being coordinated with Op Lanes Maryland, formerly known as the I-495 & I-270 P3 Program. Maryland's project will be split into two phases: Phase 1 South focused on I-495 from the American Legion Bridge to I-270 to I-370. The northern phase would focus on I-270 beyond I-370.

While Virginia's 495 NEXT is in the design phase now, Maryland's Phase 1 South has published the environmental impact statement and will have a public hearing this fall and will have a final statement in spring 2022. The public-private partnership agreement would go to the Board of Public Works in summer 2022. After the financial close in fall 2022, it would move on to design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. Construction is estimated to take five years, with lanes estimated to open by the end of 2027.

The 495 NEXT project and Maryland's project was discussed at a Sept. 29 virtual meeting. The full meeting video is available to view below.