Transurban-Led Express Lanes Ramp Project Gets Green Light From VA Board

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A Virginia board approved the designation of an express lane ramp project in Woodbridge as a high occupancy toll ramp, a ruling that will allow the project to move forward. The express lane ramp project will be built by Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators and developers.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board, which oversees transportation projects and initiatives for the state, unanimously approved the ramp designation for the 95 Express Lanes Opitz Boulevard Ramp Project, Transurban said Friday. The board also approved the 395 Seminary Road Ramp Project in Alexandria.

“I thank the Commonwealth Transportation Board for its continued confidence in Transurban to deliver congestion relief, economic opportunity and investment in Northern Virginia,” Pierce Coffee, president of Transurban North America, said in a statement Friday. “The Seminary Road and Opitz Boulevard projects allow us to better connect customers to important destinations while delivering more travel options and trip reliability.”

The project will be implemented with oversight from the Virginia Department of Transportation and in partnership with Transurban, which will design, construct and maintain the project.

Transurban also is the operator of the I-495, I-95 and I-395 Express Lanes.

The 95 Express Lanes Opitz Boulevard Ramp Project involves constructing a south-facing, reversible ramp between the 95 Express Lanes and an expanded Opitz Boulevard (Route 2000) bridge. The ramp will be built in the existing median between the southbound I-95 general-purpose lanes and 95 Express Lanes.

In addition, the existing slip ramp from the southbound I-95 general-purpose lanes to southbound 95 Express Lanes, just north of the Opitz Boulevard, will be relocated to just south of the Dale Boulevard (Route 784) interchange.

The estimated $70 million project is designed to improve access to and from the 95 Express Lanes for travelers from central and southern Prince William County and points south, including at Potomac Mills and the Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center.

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2022, with an opening in mid-2024.

Both the Seminary Road and Opitz Boulevard projects also will improve access to Transurban’s 95 and 395 Express Lanes, a 39-mile corridor that represents the longest reversible system of dynamic express lanes in the nation, Transurban said.