On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments鈥� Transportation Planning Board is expected to decide whether a proposal to bring express lanes to the southern side of Interstate 495 should remain on the table.
The project, which has been pushed by the Virginia Department of Transportation since 2022, would add 11 miles of new express lanes from the Springfield Interchange in Fairfax County, Virginia, crossing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and ending at the Maryland Route 210 interchange in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions from board members, whose approval is needed. Among those weighing in is David Snyder, a longtime board member and Falls Church City Council member, who said everyone agrees improvements are needed.
鈥淭he question is, what is the something and when?鈥� Snyder said.
He added that while VDOT鈥檚 inclusion of transit components, such as a proposed bus route, was encouraging, more clarity is needed.
鈥淚t makes no sense to expand the highway in Virginia if it just creates a bottleneck right across the bridge in Maryland,鈥� Snyder said.
Speaking at a meeting in July, VDOT mega projects Director Michelle Shropshire said the project, which would be a public-private partnership, would 鈥減our millions of dollars into vital transit and transportation improvement projects.鈥�
According to planners, the express lanes would be roughly 19 minutes faster than the general-purpose lanes and help commuters as peak travel times are expected to at least double by 2050.
Supporters also believe the lanes would improve job access by speeding up commutes and would include a new bus route between the Branch Avenue Metro station and Tysons.
But the project has faced many concerns from local leaders, especially in Maryland. Among them are air quality impacts in Prince George鈥檚 County, and whether the express lanes could block a future Metro extension across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which was originally built with rail expansion in mind.
VDOT has said space would remain available for rail. Others have questioned whether the project is worth the high cost.
Neil Harris, vice chair of the transportation planning board and a Gaithersburg City Council member, said it doesn鈥檛 appear the support, especially in Maryland, is there for the project.
鈥淭he environmental piece is 鈥� really minimal,鈥� Harris said. “But the local people who are closest to the situation are very adamantly against it.”
Maryland lawmakers and residents also raised concerns about safety on Maryland Route 210, equity and a lack of community engagement, all of which were prominent themes in public comments.
While the vote could remove the project from the region鈥檚 long-range transportation plan, it wouldn鈥檛 necessarily be the end, as Maryland and Virginia could continue discussions in the coming months.
鈥淎ny project not included in this long-range plan will be put forward and considered when it is ready, and the plan can and often is updated more frequently,鈥� said Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who also chairs the TPB.
鈥淪o the main question facing TPB this week is whether the I-495 Southside Express Lanes project is ready to move forward, or not.鈥�
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