The Virginia Department of Transportation is planning to construct and install high occupancy toll lanes alongside the existing I-395 HOV lanes within the next 2 years. A series of public hearings and public input forums will be held throughout Northern Virginia.
The plans are to coincide with the recent opening of the HOT lanes established along the I-95 corridor between Springfield and Garrisonville Road, 40 miles south of the Beltway. Secretary of Transportation, Aubrey Lane announced the project on November 21st, indicating that the existing contract with Transurban would be expanded to include the new toll lanes into Washington, D.C.
Previous efforts to construct and expand the toll lanes have met opposition and legal challenges by Arlington County. The new proposal is apparently an effort by VDOT to address the concerns of this opposition and will utilize existing right of way and result in minimum new construction along the existing interchanges.