Virginia Department of transportation (VDOT) will host Public Information Meetings at the end of January 2015 to discuss plans to transform parts of I-66 from Rt 15 to I-495. The reason for the plans? By 2040, peak period congestion in the areas towards the beltway is projected to increase to 8-10 hours per day in each direction!
Following public hearings last spring, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) advanced the following concepts from the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement for further consideration:
• Widen I-66 by building additional general purpose lanes that would not be tolled
• Convert the existing high occupancy vehicle lane into either a one or two lane (in each direction) facility that would be free to carpoolers, buses and emergency vehicles. The HOV lanes would operate similar to the I-495 Express Lanes, which were completed late 2012 or the I-95 Express Lanes, which are under construction.
• Locate a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the median of I-66 extending west from Vienna to Haymarket.
• The CTB has also advanced improving certain interchanges and choke points, increasing connections between travel modes, enhancing traveler information and traffic operations technology and making location-specific safety improvements for further consideration.
They are also looking at ideas on a possible Metrorail extension on the Orange line beyond Vienna. (Source: http://i66ppta.org/)
