Interstate 66

Interstate 66 connects I-81 near Strasburg, Virginia to the nation's capital along a 76.28 mile route. The freeway superseded Virginia Route 55 east from Strasburg to Gainesville and U.S. 29 from there east to Rosslyn, Virginia.

Interstate 66 varies between four and six lanes between the Capital Beltway (I-495) and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge across the Potomac River into D.C. Within the Capital Beltway, I-66 operates as a toll road. The I-66 Express Lanes operate along the eastbound roadway weekdays between 5:30 and 9:30 AM and on the westbound roadway weekdays between 3:00 and 7:00 PM. Tolls vary depending on traffic congestion and are collected using E-ZPass transponders. HOV-3 eligible motorists can use Interstate 66 toll free with an E-ZPass Flex transponder set to HOV mode. The previous HOV-2 exemption changed to HOV-3 on December 5, 2022.

The I-66 Inside the Beltway Express Lanes commenced operations on December 4, 2017. They operate between I-495 and U.S. 29 in Rosslyn.¹ West of the beltway prior to the extension of the Express Lanes, Interstate 66 carried six to eight lanes with the innermost lane restricted to HOV-2 eligible motorists during peak hours of travel. The Washington Metro Orange Line lines the median of I-66 west from Exit 71 at Ballston in Arlington to Exit 62 at Vienna.

The I-66 Outside the Beltway Express Lanes extend 22.5 miles west from I-495 to University Boulevard and U.S. 29 (Lee Highway) in Gainesville. Part of $3.7 billion in transportation improvements, the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project got underway with right of way acquisition and construction in Spring 2018. Two Express Lanes operate alongside three General Purpose Lanes per direction. The final 13 miles of the toll lanes opened to traffic between SR 28 in Centreville and the Capital Beltway on November 22, 2022.²

A Park & Ride Lot was constructed adjacent to I-66 between U.S. 29 (Lee Highway) and University Boulevard as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. With over 1,000 spaces, the lot opened on October 7, 2019.³ A second lot was built along the extension of Century Park Drive north from Balls Ford Road to I-66/SR 234. Express Lane ramps connect with University Boulevard, Century Park Drive, SR 28 (Sully Road), Stringfellow Road (SR 645), Monument Drive, U.S. 50, SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road), Vaden Drive and I-495.

All interchanges were at least slightly modified as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. Major changes are underway at SR 28, where work upgrades a parclo interchange into a multi level exchange. The loop ramp from I-66 east to SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) north and directional ramp from I-66 west to SR 123 south were removed and replaced with signalized turns. The cloverleaf interchange with SR 243 (Nutley Street) was converted into a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

Interstate 66 Virginia Guides

Previous restrictions along Interstate 66 within the Capital Beltway only allowed HOV-3 traffic on all lanes during the morning and evening peak hours. There was also a period of time when the restriction was increased to HOV-4 eligible vehicles. The freeway-wide restriction was eventually lowered to HOV-2 for the morning inbound commute and HOV-2 for the evening outbound commute. This changed with the conversion of I-66 to a High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) road. In addition, a truck ban is in effect east of Interstate 495.

Although this is a fairly short route, the future aspirations of Interstate 66 were much greater. Additions to the national high priority corridor system in the early 2000s resulted in proposals to extend Interstate 66 west from Strasburg across the country via High Priority Corridor 3: Trans-America Corridor. Interstate 66 was actively promoted by the state of Kentucky, even appearing on issues of the Official Highway Map. I-66 into West Virginia was considered for Corridor H/U.S. 48 or along overlaps with I-81 and I-64 to reach Kentucky. Neither came to fruition, as Corridor H was developed as a mostly at-grade expressway.

scenes

Virginia Route 243 (Nutley Street) south at the eastbound entrance ramp for I-66 to Arlington and Washington. Nutley Street meets the freeway at a cloverleaf interchange midway between Vienna and the Fairfax area (U.S. 29). 09/25/04

Photo Credits:

09/25/04 by AARoads

Connect with:
Interstate 81
Interstate 95
Interstate 495 / Capital Beltway
U.S. 17
U.S. 29

Page Updated 02-10-2023.