No edge cities to speak of on I-485 and I-540.
Tysons Corner is Fairfax County's central business district and a regional commercial center, and is the 12th largest CBD in the nation based on square feet of office space.
VA I-495 is a heavily used local commuter route in its own right with cities like Vienna, Falls Church, Fairfax and Alexandria.
Strongly disagree. I-485 is mostly a commuter route, the only thru-traffic use it gets is mostly US-74 thru traffic since that's the only freeway option - no freeway exists inside the beltway for US-74 thru traffic, US-74 follows congested arterial roadways, while I-485 is 70 mph interstate highway. It's a no brainer. I-85 and I-77 traffic may use it to bypass Charlotte, though conditions are usually free-flowing through those corridors.
I-485 serves the suburban developments that line the entire corridor, not to mention serves major activity centers near I-77, and serves the towns Stallings, Matthews, and Huntersville.
Either way, no matter what you think, HO/T lanes are already funded, and if I'm not mistaken, construction is already underway on part of it.
I-540 is the same, though nothing is under construction yet. Serves plenty of suburban developments, is a heavy commuter route, and activity centers near US-1.
And both routes see a good amount of congestion. I-540 is already 6-8 lanes, while the part they're currently building HO/T lanes on I-485 is also 6-8 lanes.
You could also claim I-540 connects the outer suburbs off I-87 and out east that are growing to Durham and the RTP.
Why are you against things when they're in North Carolina, but it's fine if it's in Virginia? The I-64 HO/T lanes on the High Rise Bridge corridor aren't serving much besides suburban development sprawl either. The I-95 HO/T lanes connect suburban sprawl into D.C. Not much different. I-495 serves local traffic and connects activity centers. I-485 and I-540 do the same.
Frankly, I'd rather see HO/T lanes in urban areas (such as proposed on I-485, I-540, etc.) and general purpose widenings on mainline's outside the city. For instance, people are more supportive of I-485 HO/T lanes, while there was fierce opposition to the I-77 HO/T lanes, and NCDOT is currently considering buying out their contract with Cintra and converting the HO/T lane north of I-485 into a third general purpose lane. I'm supportive of that proposal. I'd rather also see a new general purpose get added to the High Rise Bridge going to Bowers Hill rather than the HO/T lane. A lot of people would agree. When it's built to 8-lanes, than make the new lane an HOV or maybe 1 HO/T lane. The current 2 GP + 2 HO/T ultimate 2030 build out makes no sense, especially when it's tying into a 3 GP + 1 HO/T (the current HOV is planned to be converted).