Maybe the new annual funding for I-95 can help.
Definitely agree. A special bond could also be used to accelerate the project, with that annual funding being used to repay it, in lieu of toll revenue. State and federal funding could also be added to the mix to speed things up even faster.
Using a rough $50 million per mile figure, that adds up to about $2 billion being needed to widen 40 miles of I-95 to 8-lanes between Fredericksburg and DC, and for up to 10-lanes between Fredericksburg and DC, using $65 million per mile, or $2.3 billion for 35 miles. You could also throw in another $500 million - $1 billion for other operational improvements such as interchange reconfigurations, etc. so I'd roughly estimate about $5.3 billion total being needed. With I-81 now fully funded, this could certainly should happen IMO.
The recent replacement of the bridges at Lewistown Road and VA-54 also provided more space for a wider highway. The Atlee-Elmont bridge was replaced in the 2005 interchange upgrade project, also with longer clearances.
VA-54 is questionable - to fit an 8-lane through there, you'd have to have only a 4 foot left shoulder that would touch the bridge support because of the tight fit. Then again, the 1.1 mile widening apart of the 2017 project that added a 4th lane only provided a 4 foot left shoulder, not 10 or 12 foot. But operationally, it would work. I don't care if it's a 4 foot shoulder or 12 foot, as long as there's a 12 foot additional travel lane, it works.
Based on the higher traffic volumes between I-295 and VA-54 than north of there, I would agree with prioritizing widening of that segment. There were planning studies about 10 years ago and one of the alternatives proposed was for 10 lanes on a 2-3-3-2 dual-divided cross section, in addition to an 8-lane alternative.
A 2-3-3-2 option is a nice concept, though considering VDOT hasn't launched any studies to actually widen I-95 to anything more than 6 lanes, I think 2-3-3-2 is pushing it. Also, none of the bridge lengths support it. You'd have to replace every overpass, not to mention it would cost significantly more. For the entire I-95 corridor, I'd support 8-lanes between I-295 and Fredericksburg, up to 10 GP lanes (5 in each direction) between Fredericksburg and Woodbridge, and in sections where interchanges are close and a lot of local travel exists, a 2-4-4-2.
While 10 lanes north of Fredericksburg may seem a bit excessive, it's important to note upwards of 130,000 AADT use that stretch daily, and HO/T lanes already exist for the corridor and there's still massive congestion issues. Adding 2 lanes in each direction would likely relieve this significantly, and is worth the investment IMO.