Northern Virginia HOT Lanes

[Beltway]

I-495 doesn't have the high directional split that a radial freeway like I-95 has, and they had to compromise with 6 lanes each way and not 4 separated roadways like they could have done if there was sufficient right-of-way.  It is also only 11 miles compared to the 29 miles of I-95 and I-395.

The point on right-of-way often gets missed.  95 is pretty tight as it is between Newington and the Franconia exit.  Squeezing separate HO/T carriageways for each direction through there would, at a minimum, require *A LOT* of retaining wall and road/ramp realignment.  More likely would require shifting Backlick and Lonsdale Roads outward, requiring the requisite ROW to do so.

That, and the fact that it integrates with the whole Shirley Highway reconstruction design of 1965-75, with the reversible roadway, and where they basically used up all the right-of-way that they could obtain in Arlington and Alexandria.

I would argue that with the completion of the 3-lane widening for the HOT lanes on I-395, that this highway has reached full buildout in Fairfax County, and Arlington and Alexandria.  The 4N-3R-4S and 3N-3R-3S configurations well meet the directional splits.

General purpose widening south of Woodbridge is something that I have supported many times in the past.

This issue of full buildout of a radial freeway means that other freeways need to be built.  One of the first would be this, but of course Maryland would need to get on board because they have not in the past.

Western Bypass of Washington area

[Jmiles32]

A lot of information released tonight regarding the extension.

Here's a "2025" build schematic of 2 HO/T lanes in each direction and 4 GP lanes, extending from the existing and ending at the American Legion Bridge. It features direct connections to the Dulles Toll Road and George Washington Memorial Pkwy.

Perhaps even more interesting is the "2045" build schematic that shows how the HO/T lanes would tie into a widened / replaced American Legion Bridge and continued HO/T system into Maryland. Also the Dulles Toll Road interchange is massively expanded, and access the GW Memorial Pkwy to the HO/T lanes would be in both directions. The 2045 schematic shows a widened / replaced American Legion Bridge having 10 GP lanes (4 thru / 1 auxiliary in each direction), and 4 HO/T lanes (two in each direction), along with full left shoulders on the HO/T lanes, and full right shoulders on the GP lanes.

It would go from an 8-lane bridge with no shoulders to a 14-lane bridge with full left and right shoulders in total.

In both plans, the Georgetown Pike interchange is reconstructed fully with braided ramps & the overpass over I-495 is replaced with a wider and longer overpass.

The 2045 Dulles Toll Road Interchange expansion is very impressive indeed. VA-123 interchange improvements with both I-495 and the DTR are included too. Furthermore, it appears as if VA-123 will also be given at least partial new HOT lanes access. My only question is who is planning to pay for these down the road improvements? The state, Transburban as part of the current deal, or maybe another party entirely?

I also still think a DDI would be a more efficient improvement at the Georgetown Pike Interchange.

[sprjus4]

My only question is who is planning to pay for these down the road improvements? The state, Transburban as part of the current deal, or maybe another party entirely?

Transurban would be doing it. They'll recoup the cost, not VDOT or taxpayers.

[Jmiles32]

My only question is who is planning to pay for these down the road improvements? The state, Transburban as part of the current deal, or maybe another party entirely?

Transurban would be doing it. They'll recoup the cost, not VDOT or taxpayers.

Good, although there is no way the cost of that future interchange expansion was included in the current cost of $550 million for the 2.5 mile extension. Guessing the interchange expansion alone may cost around $500 million.

[1995hoo]

There's a portable VMS on I-395 advising that the southbound slip ramp from the express lanes back to the mainline at the Pentagon right where the reversible roadway begins will close for good on June 1. That's going to be a big adjustment for a lot of people and will have a major impact on traffic patterns leaving the Pentagon.

The northbound BGSs nearby that use "14th Street Br"  as a control "city"  (and that have peeling green backgrounds) are coming down soon–new signs that say "Washington"  are in place just behind them.

[mrsman]

There's a portable VMS on I-395 advising that the southbound slip ramp from the express lanes back to the mainline at the Pentagon right where the reversible roadway begins will close for good on June 1. That's going to be a big adjustment for a lot of people and will have a major impact on traffic patterns leaving the Pentagon.

The northbound BGSs nearby that use "14th Street Br"  as a control "city"  (and that have peeling green backgrounds) are coming down soon–new signs that say "Washington"  are in place just behind them.

Does this effectively make the carpool restrictions effective over a longer portion of I-395?  How would this impact the extra traffic expected due to the Metro closure?

[1995hoo]

There's a portable VMS on I-395 advising that the southbound slip ramp from the express lanes back to the mainline at the Pentagon right where the reversible roadway begins will close for good on June 1. That's going to be a big adjustment for a lot of people and will have a major impact on traffic patterns leaving the Pentagon.

The northbound BGSs nearby that use "14th Street Br"  as a control "city"  (and that have peeling green backgrounds) are coming down soon–new signs that say "Washington"  are in place just behind them.

Does this effectively make the carpool restrictions effective over a longer portion of I-395?  How would this impact the extra traffic expected due to the Metro closure?

On the second one, guess we'll find out the week after next.

Here's the link to the info on their website, including some maps:

https://www.expresslanes.com/projects/395#tab395-hov-lanes-permanent-ramp-closure

[1995hoo]

So I can confirm there are some big changes coming for the I-395 express lanes at the Pentagon. I'm on the shuttle bus home and when the bus exited the "pork chop"  and turned up the ramp to the express lanes, it was easy to see the stencils painted on the road for northbound left turns into the Pentagon. In other words, the Eads Street ramps will become reversible later this year. That hasn't been publicized much and it'll be a massive shock to a lot of people. A lot of Pentagon commuters understandably have well-established routines, although there's so much construction there that I suppose they should be used to change.

[froggie]

^ Pretty sure that's already been announced.  Though it seems DC drivers pay about as much attention to such announcements as they do pedestrians...

[1995hoo]

^ Pretty sure that's already been announced.  Though it seems DC drivers pay about as much attention to such announcements as they do pedestrians...

I know there has been limited info about it on Transurban's site, but it's gotten pretty much zero media coverage whatsoever. I think that's a disservice by the media because it's going to be a major set of changes. May also result in more crashes due to conflict between people exiting the southbound express lanes just north of Route 1 and people trying to move left from the mainline to take the left exit to Route 1.

Of course, you're right about people ignoring things. There were people today who didn't know about the Metrorail closures.

[1995hoo]

There's a portable VMS on I-395 advising that the southbound slip ramp from the express lanes back to the mainline at the Pentagon right where the reversible roadway begins will close for good on June 1. That's going to be a big adjustment for a lot of people and will have a major impact on traffic patterns leaving the Pentagon.

The northbound BGSs nearby that use "14th Street Br"  as a control "city"  (and that have peeling green backgrounds) are coming down soon–new signs that say "Washington"  are in place just behind them.

Does this effectively make the carpool restrictions effective over a longer portion of I-395?  How would this impact the extra traffic expected due to the Metro closure?

This morning on the WMATA shuttle I was thinking this ramp closure is going to confuse the crap out of the bus drivers who are returning to Springfield and Huntington when the HOV lanes are pointed northbound. I haven't seen any sort of signage on the surface-level streets near the Pork Chop advising of the new route. ("New"  in the sense of "newly-required."  The roads in question have been there a long time.)

[Beltway]

This morning on the WMATA shuttle I was thinking this ramp closure is going to confuse the crap out of the bus drivers who are returning to Springfield and Huntington when the HOV lanes are pointed northbound. I haven't seen any sort of signage on the surface-level streets near the Pork Chop advising of the new route. ("New"  in the sense of "newly-required."  The roads in question have been there a long time.)

So are there a slew of new express buses on I-95 and I-395, taking up the ridership between Franconia-Springfield and Pentagon stations?

[1995hoo]

This morning on the WMATA shuttle I was thinking this ramp closure is going to confuse the crap out of the bus drivers who are returning to Springfield and Huntington when the HOV lanes are pointed northbound. I haven't seen any sort of signage on the surface-level streets near the Pork Chop advising of the new route. ("New"  in the sense of "newly-required."  The roads in question have been there a long time.)

So are there a slew of new express buses on I-95 and I-395, taking up the ridership between Franconia-Springfield and Pentagon stations?

Yes, until September 8 they're running buses roughly every five minutes in each direction between those two stops. Some are charter buses, some are Metrobuses. Yesterday morning I was on a Metrobus "bendy bus"  (articulated bus) and last night I was on a standard Metrobus. My other trips this week have all been on charter buses that say "Academy"  on the side. From Springfield, they enter the express lanes from the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, take I-395 to the exit marked simply "Pentagon"  (the Eads Street exit), make a left at the bottom of the ramp, and then make a right around the Pork Chop to the transit center. Reverse that in the afternoon.

Edited to add: There should also be buses on the I-395 HOV making the express run between Huntington and the Pentagon, but I hear there have been hiccups there with lost bus drivers. One wound up at the Anacostia Metro on Tuesday morning.

[Beltway]

There should also be buses on the I-395 HOV making the express run between Huntington and the Pentagon, but I hear there have been hiccups there with lost bus drivers.

Isn't that way out of the way?  What about the bus headways connecting the other closed stations?  Where do the buses alight, in the Metrorail station bus bays?

[1995hoo]

There should also be buses on the I-395 HOV making the express run between Huntington and the Pentagon, but I hear there have been hiccups there with lost bus drivers.

Isn't that way out of the way?  What about the bus headways connecting the other closed stations?  Where do the buses alight, in the Metrorail station bus bays?

It's out of the way distance-wise, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were faster time-wise during rush hour because of all the traffic lights if they went up Route 1. If I wanted to go downtown and I normally parked at Huntington, I'd consider switching to Springfield for the duration of this work. More straightforward trip.

There are other shuttles linking the closed stops, but I haven't taken the time to familiarize myself with them because I have no need to use them. At most of the closed stops they either use the regular bus bays or temporary ones, the latter at stops where the regular ones are closed for construction staging (Van Dorn and King Street are examples of that).

[Beltway]

Isn't that way out of the way?  What about the bus headways connecting the other closed stations?  Where do the buses alight, in the Metrorail station bus bays?

It's out of the way distance-wise, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were faster time-wise during rush hour because of all the traffic lights if they went up Route 1. If I wanted to go downtown and I normally parked at Huntington, I'd consider switching to Springfield for the duration of this work. More straightforward trip.

I thought you were referring to a trip between Huntington and Pentagon stations.  That would include the bus taking the Beltway to Springfield.

[1995hoo]

Isn't that way out of the way?  What about the bus headways connecting the other closed stations?  Where do the buses alight, in the Metrorail station bus bays?

It's out of the way distance-wise, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were faster time-wise during rush hour because of all the traffic lights if they went up Route 1. If I wanted to go downtown and I normally parked at Huntington, I'd consider switching to Springfield for the duration of this work. More straightforward trip.

I thought you were referring to a trip between Huntington and Pentagon stations.  That would include the bus taking the Beltway to Springfield.

In the one paragraph I was. Most of my comments have been about the buses between Springfield and the Pentagon, but I noted the express shuttle between Huntington and the Pentagon is also supposed to use the I-395 HOV. I have no personal experience on that bus route as I have no reason to ride it.

After that, you asked about the bus headways connecting the other closed stations. I said I don't know much about them. They're using surface streets for obvious reasons. I do know they are NOT using the Route 1 busway for the shuttles, supposedly because the drivers haven't been "trained"  to do so (I assume this means they have to be educated on how to read the special bus traffic signals, which seems simple enough to me based on seeing those signals when I've been stopped at red lights).

[mrsman]

There is a lot of information about the closure and the shuttle buses on WMATA's web site.  Unfortunately, it isn't very well organized and there are a lot of separate lists, for each station and for each bus.

From a WaPo article, I saw a link to this "cheat sheet" which has the best summary of the closure and shuttle bus options.  It also lists some of the regular buses that may be helpful to some people.  Some of those buses are operating on a more frequent than normal schedule.

https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/PlatformProject/upload/Cheat-Sheet_BusBay-Shuttles_TAB-V_051619_v10a_PRINT.pdf

Basically, lists the new shuttle buses, a rough map of the shuttle bus routes, times when the buses run, and the locations of where to pick up the buses.  As 1995hoo said, there is a lot of construction staging in the bus loops (I saw this at Braddock Road, a few weeks ago even before the work got under way), so buses may be moved to alternatrive bus bays.

As far as the special buses, there are 5 of them.  All are free.  The buses do go in both directions, though they are probably relatively empty in the reverse peak direction.

F/S-Van Dorn-King St-Reagan Airport local "blue line" shuttle.  No specifics on the routing, but likely primarily on local streets.  Hopefully taking advantage of the HOV lanes on Washington Street between King St and the airport.

Huntington-Eisenhower-King St-Braddock-Crystal City local "yellow line" shuttle.  No specifics on the routing, but likely primarily on local streets.  Probably uses US 1 between Braddock Road and Crystal City, but without the benefit of HOV lanes.

Landmark Mall - Pentagon Express.  Likely uses N Van Dorn to Seminary to I-395.  HOV lanes if going in the proper direction.  Probably uses Duke St exit if HOV lanes are in wrong direction.

F/S - Pentagon Express.  F/S Pkwy to I-395 HOV in HOV direction.  F/S Pkwy to Fronteir to Franconia Rd to I-395 when HOV is in the wrong direction.

Huntington - Pentagon Express.  As others have mentioned, this bus probably uses I-495 to I-395 to Pentagon, utilizing the I-395 HOV when open.


I know that many of the charter buses (and their drivers) are not from the area.  It is probably confusing for them to have to learn different routes based on the time of day because of the reversible nature of HOV lanes.  As 1995hoo mentioned, for those heading to DC, F/S is probably the best option as the ramps to the HOV lanes are right there.  If you have the luxury of driving and parking, it may be wise to go there, then to wait for a local shuttle at a stop like King Street.

[1995hoo]

I believe, based on passing the buses on my way home, that the local bus starts its run by heading east on the F-S Parkway, north on Beulah Street, east on Franconia Road, north on Van Dorn Street, and probably around the loop on Metro Road to the Van Dorn stop. I assume from there they use Eisenhower Avenue east, but I don't know which route they use from there to the temporary bus bays on Diagonal Road. (The King Street parking and bus lane have been torn up for months now for a big rebuild.)

Aside from the proximity to the highway, I think two other good reasons to use Springfield are the ample free parking and the VRE access. VRE is a good fallback if there's a problem on I-395 or on the trains to the Pentagon, and Springfield is easier to park at than the Alexandria Amtrak stop the VRE serves.

[1995hoo]

There's a portable VMS on I-395 advising that the southbound slip ramp from the express lanes back to the mainline at the Pentagon right where the reversible roadway begins will close for good on June 1. That's going to be a big adjustment for a lot of people and will have a major impact on traffic patterns leaving the Pentagon.

The northbound BGSs nearby that use "14th Street Br"  as a control "city"  (and that have peeling green backgrounds) are coming down soon–new signs that say "Washington"  are in place just behind them.

Does this effectively make the carpool restrictions effective over a longer portion of I-395?  How would this impact the extra traffic expected due to the Metro closure?

Dave Dildine of WTOP says the northern slip ramp will be the northern terminus of tolling. That implies to me you'd pay toll to go to the Pentagon to pick up slugs via the Eads Street ramp (by far the most direct way since they moved the slug lines to the Pork Chop two weeks ago). I don't know how it's to work between now and the start of tolling. The Express Lanes Twitter feed has a video I haven't gotten to watch yet.



Edited to add: Video linked below. Nothing we didn't already know, but you get a glimpse of some new signs. I hadn't seen them because I haven't driven into DC since hockey season ended.

https://youtu.be/38y-HGFViLc

[froggie]

Dave Dildine of WTOP says the northern slip ramp will be the northern terminus of tolling. That implies to me you'd pay toll to go to the Pentagon to pick up slugs via the Eads Street ramp (by far the most direct way since they moved the slug lines to the Pork Chop two weeks ago). I don't know how it's to work between now and the start of tolling. The Express Lanes Twitter feed has a video I haven't gotten to watch yet.

According to past project documentation I've read, the Eads Street interchange will be the northern terminus.  If you're coming from D.C. proper, you will be able to exit at Eads St (and vice versa) without paying the toll.

[1995hoo]

Dave Dildine of WTOP says the northern slip ramp will be the northern terminus of tolling. That implies to me you'd pay toll to go to the Pentagon to pick up slugs via the Eads Street ramp (by far the most direct way since they moved the slug lines to the Pork Chop two weeks ago). I don't know how it's to work between now and the start of tolling. The Express Lanes Twitter feed has a video I haven't gotten to watch yet.

According to past project documentation I've read, the Eads Street interchange will be the northern terminus.  If you're coming from D.C. proper, you will be able to exit at Eads St (and vice versa) without paying the toll.

That makes a lot more sense. (Edited to add:) In that video, which I just rewatched on a larger screen, I note there appears to be a toll gantry adjacent to the remaining slip ramp, but it spans only the inbound express lanes.

[mrsman]

Dave Dildine of WTOP says the northern slip ramp will be the northern terminus of tolling. That implies to me you'd pay toll to go to the Pentagon to pick up slugs via the Eads Street ramp (by far the most direct way since they moved the slug lines to the Pork Chop two weeks ago). I don't know how it's to work between now and the start of tolling. The Express Lanes Twitter feed has a video I haven't gotten to watch yet.

According to past project documentation I've read, the Eads Street interchange will be the northern terminus.  If you're coming from D.C. proper, you will be able to exit at Eads St (and vice versa) without paying the toll.

That makes a lot more sense. (Edited to add:) In that video, which I just rewatched on a larger screen, I note there appears to be a toll gantry adjacent to the remaining slip ramp, but it spans only the inbound express lanes.

I just hope there is clear signage as to all of these changes.  It didn't seem very clear on the video.

[davewiecking]

I just hope there is clear signage as to all of these changes.  It didn't seem very clear on the video.

A drone shot would be a lot better than that crazy wide angle dashboard cam. But then there's the Pentagon and National Airport nearby...

[mrsman]

I just hope there is clear signage as to all of these changes.  It didn't seem very clear on the video.

A drone shot would be a lot better than that crazy wide angle dashboard cam. But then there's the Pentagon and National Airport nearby...

The signage has to be a lot better than what you'd typically see at an interstate highway.  Normally, if I miss my exit, so I just continue and get to the next one.  But here, continuing down what used to be regular freeway lanes could either be an HOV violation or going the wrong way on a reversible roadway.

And it's especially difficult now as there are probably a lot of new drivers who don't normally drive the corridor who are seeking a workaround for the Metro shutdown.

We'll see how they do the signage when this is finally implemented.  Of course, if we don't think it's up to par, it sounds like a good candidate to revive the "Redesign this" thread in the Illustrations forum.