I-95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension

Located along one of the busiest corridors in Northern Virginia, the I-95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension project leverages price-managed tolling lane solutions to address significant systematic congestion that has impacted the lives of more than 600,000 daily commuters.

As lead engineer, HNTB is supporting the Virginia Department of Transportation to elongate the I-95 Express Lanes an additional 10 miles toward the City of Fredericksburg. The extended express lanes consist of two reversible high-occupancy toll lanes, new access points at Route 17 and Route 630 interchanges and new direct access to both north and southbound I-95.

The extension of the express lanes offers greater flexibility, reduces congestion, efficiently meets traffic demand and ensures a new level of travel time certainty for all commuters along the I-95 corridor.

Ancillary improvements of the project include:

• The relocation of 3/4 of a mile of I-95 southbound near American Legion Road
• The replacement of the American Legion Road over I-95 overpass
• The replacement of the Truslow Road over I-95 overpass
• Twenty-nine new stormwater management (SWM) ponds
• Ten new or extended large culverts
• Nearly two miles of noise wall

Innovative Funding Models

The Fredericksburg Express Lanes Extension project was delivered via the continuation of innovative public-private partnerships used for the greater I-95 and I-495 express lanes network. The project utilizes demand-based pricing and electronic tolling to maintain a free flow interstate option into and out of the Northern Virginia and DC area.

High-Occupancy Toll Lanes & Intelligent Transportation Systems

The existing technique of utilizing high occupancy toll lanes is a core component of this 10-mile extension. As part of this project, VDOT leverages the HNTB-designed intelligent transportation system for the I-95 Express Lanes project, which monitors traffic volumes on both the express and the general purpose lanes, enabling more efficient traffic management.

Encouraging Use of Public Transportation

The expanded express lanes network benefits all commuters, including registered carpoolers and bus services, which can use the lanes for free. With bus services in particular, the travel time reliability available with the use of express lanes—from predicting when a bus is going to arrive and its ability to maintain its published route schedule—provides greater encouragement for commuters to utilize these mobility options.