Thursday, April 4, 2013
A special promotion is in effect Saturday and Sunday to encourage travelers to try out the new express lanes.
Sick of the gridlock around Vienna? Drivers this weekend can use the Interstate 495 Beltway Express Lanes for free — no E-ZPass required. The free weekend, April 6 and 7, is part of an educational campaign to encourage Beltway drivers to try the new travel option on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway and see how the Express Lanes can work for them, according to the 495 Express Lanes project. In addition to two days of free travel, the Express Lanes will also lift the E-ZPass requirement. Drivers can travel on the Express Lanes with or without an E-ZPass and will not be charged a toll. At all other times, drivers are required to travel with an E-ZPass; carpoolers must have an E-ZPass Flex. Free Express Lanes travel is only available …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Seven new locations will show miles and minutes to destinations beginning in April with additional signs expected by summer.
How slow can you go? That and other questions will be answered beginning Tuesday on Interstate 66, when motorists will begin to see travel times displayed on additional overhead message boards spanning the 35 miles from Washington to Haymarket. The Virginia Department of Transportation has posted the number of miles and minutes since August 2011 to key destinations at three locations between the Beltway and Gainsville. Several more locations will be added by summer — two on I-66 and four locations on major roads approaching I-66. Congestion Conundrum: Rail or Roads? We already know traffic in the Washington metro area is the worst in the country, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. How to alleviate congestion in Northern …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Beulah Bridge repairs may affect your drive.
Dulles Toll Road drivers should expect alternating lane closures and a total closure of up to 20 minutes eastbound on the Dulles Toll Road Route near Beulah Road as crews remove a beam from the bridge Thursday night, VDOT announced. Lane closures will begin at 9 p.m. The complete road closure will take place after midnight and all closures should be lifted by 5 a.m. The closures are part of VDOT’s project to rehabilitate the Beulah Road bridge.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Abi Lerner heads to Virginia Department of Transportation.
Abi Lerner, Alexandria's deputy director of transportation, will be departing from the city's Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. He is leaving to become the Virginia Department of Transportation's new Tysons Corner coordinator, according to a T&ES spokeswoman. Sandra Marks, division chief for transportation planning, will fill in during the interim, until the position is filled.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Roads reduced to one lane through December.
The Virginia Department of Transportation begins work Wednesday to rehabilitate the structurally deficient Beulah Road bridge over Wolftrap Run in Fairfax County. Crews will fill voids under bridge footings, repair existing abutments and footings, repair bearings, and mill and overlay the bridge deck and approaches. Beginning Sept. 5, Beulah Road will be reduced to a single lane, controlled by a temporary signal, at the intersection of Browns Mill Road in Fairfax County. This traffic pattern will remain in place through the project’s completion in December. During peak hours, drivers should consider using alternate routes. Message signs are in place to notify drivers of the upcoming work
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Drivers lose three lanes from Friday night through Monday morning
The Virginia Department of Transportation will shut down I-66 westbound this weekend near the Capital Beltway for excavation, paving, demolition and road marking work. The work is part of the I-495 HOT LANES project. The lane closures, which run 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, will be done in four phases, according to VDOT. (See provided map and text below for more information) Phase 1 Friday Night: 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. Saturday morning Saturday Night: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Work area: I-495 north/south, Exit 49, ramps to I-66 west reduced to one lane onto I-66 west. Also I-66 west approaching I-495 reduced to one through lanes. Phase 2 Saturday Morning 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Work area: I-495 north/south, Exit 49, ramps to I-66 west reduced to …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Work scheduled 10 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday; fourth lane will close for 30-minute increments throughout the night
Drivers should expect delays on I-66 West near its intersection with I-495 Friday night as the Virginia Department of Transportation removes an old overhead box girder as part of the 495 HOT LANES project. Between 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, VDOT will close three lanes of I-66 west at I-495, and drivers will be limited to a single lane. After midnight, VDOT said in a release, the fourth lane will close for up to 30 minutes at a time throughout the night; from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., there will be a one hour temporary stoppage. The exit from I-495 south to I-66 West, Exit 49, will also be closed. Crews will be directing drivers to continue to exit 52B, Little River Turnpike (Route 236) east and follow signs to I-495 north to take Exit 49A…
Friday, June 15, 2012
Find comprehensive travel information via VDOT's 511 service as an app
The Virginia Department of Transportation's 511 service is now available for Android phones and tablets and Apple's iPhones and iPads as a free app. The service was previously available via phone calls to the 511 number and on the web at www.511virginia.org. As we all too well know, summertime travel on Virginia roads can be unpredictable. There are of course some known knowns, to paraphrase a former Secretary of Defense, such as I-95 South will be a parking lot every Friday from 2 p.m. onward. But when you encounter stalled traffic on a late evening mid-week as you try to run errands or when you find out too late that there are going to be periodic lane closures on the beltway to accommodate construction, the frustration level of living …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Public comments accepted on proposal through June 12.
A proposal under consideration by the Virginia Department of Transportation would assess a monthly fee for E-ZPass users of about $1 per transponder. E-ZPass is the system that allows drivers to pass through toll plazas more quickly by carrying transponders that automatically charge tolls to a registered account. VDOT has proposed the fee to help defray administrative and operations costs within the state for the service. Most of the E-ZPass toll facilities are not operated by VDOT. The program has grown significantly over the years and will be part of new toll services opening during the next few years. The proposed monthly fee would cover costs for: The fee — which would be reevaluated on a regular basis — would also help control costs …
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Virginia recently opened naming rights for rest stops -- highways are next
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, April 1, 2012
By Ryan Murphy Capital News Service RICHMOND – As the state budget inches closer to passage by the General Assembly, the Virginia Department of Transportation is hoping to raise money by selling the naming rights for roads, bridges and highway stretches. “We look for revenue generation opportunity where we can, and we try to be creative with it,” VDOT spokeswoman Tamara Rollison said. She said it has been a struggle for VDOT to maintain Virginia’s infrastructure in light of the department’s financial troubles. “Our resources and revenues have been dwindling over the years,” she said, noting that a 1986 gas tax increase was the most recent serious increase in revenue. “When we can find innovative ways to partner with the private sector and …
Laura B.
11:45 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013
I would probably get an EZ-Pass if it weren't for the fact that they charge a monthly fee to keep an account open. I looked into the option of getting one from another state that doesn't assess a monthly fee, such as Massachusetts, but it appears that the Flex version can only come from Virginia. more ›