I-95 Fourth Lane
Route 123 to Fairfax County Parkway
(Updated July 2011)
Alliance Position:
Construct additional lane in each direction to eliminate major bottleneck and improve regional security.
Background:
Perhaps the thinking was the Fairfax County Parkway would be completed and diverted traffic earlier. Perhaps it was that additional funds would be forthcoming shortly.
Whatever the reason, the failure to add the fourth lane in each direction in the 6.3 mile I-95 segment between Route 123/Occoquon River Bridge and the Fairfax County Parkway (Route 7100) costs area and interstate travelers tens of thousands of lost hours daily. It’s also a major regional chokepoint in the event of a major natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The federal Base Relocation and Closure Commission (BRAC) decision to re-locate upwards of 25,000 jobs to Fort Belvoir/Environmental Proving Grounds makes completion of this project particularly important.
This segment currently carries about 212,000 vehicles per day. By 2025 those numbers are expected to increase to 240,000.
Current Status:
The construction of a fourth lane on I-95, stretching six miles between Newington and Occaquan, is complete. New lanes are open in both directions between Route 1 and Newington, including a widened Occoquan River bridge.
- Estimated Cost: $123 million
- Construction start: Spring 2008
- Completion date: July 2011
- I-95 Northbound Lane (between Route 1 and Route 7100): Completed December 2009
- I-95 Southbound Lane (between Route 7100 and Route 1): Completed Fall 2010
- Widening of Occoquan Bridge: Completed in July 2011