HOT Lanes - High Occupancy Traffic

November 2015 - Governor McAuliffe and Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne recently announced two projects in partnership with Transurban that will bring significant benefits to anyone who travels on I-95 and I-395 in Northern Virginia.

Extensions of the 95 Express Lanes are planned in both the north and south - providing our customers with even more time-savings and predictability.

We thank our more than 2 million customers and are proud to host approximately 85,000 trips each day on the Express Lanes. As we did with the 495 and 95 Express Lanes, Transurban will work to deliver these improvements safely and as quickly as possible.

395 Express Lanes Extension Project
The 395 Express Lanes project will convert the existing two I-395 HOV lanes into three Express Lanes from Edsall Road - where the 95 Express Lanes end today - to the D.C. line. Here's what you need to know:

Carpoolers with three or more will travel for free and other drivers will have a new option for a faster rush hour trip by paying a toll
The project will provide dedicated funding for transit improvements along the corridor
There will be no changes to most interchanges, including around Shirlington Road
The Seminary Road ramps will remain HOV-only
Eligible communities will be able to vote to receive sound walls
Project partners are dedicated to robust public outreach and will seek input from all impacted parties
Construction of the project could generate 1,500 jobs
Work could start as soon as spring 2017 and is estimated to take about two years

95 Express Lanes Operational Improvement

Operational improvements at the southern end of the 95 Express Lanes will improve travel conditions in Stafford County. This project will extend the roadway with a single lane in the median for about two miles, create a new southbound merge after Route 610/Garrisonville Road and add a new northbound entry point. These improvements will:

Include new roadway capacity, and gates and signage for the new entry point
Primarily take place within the median, however, tolling and regulatory signs will need to be installed along the regular northbound lanes south of Garrisonville Road
Take place within the existing right-of-way - no personal or business property will be affected
Begin next year and take about two years to complete

A project factsheet on the 95 southern extension can be found at https://www.expresslanes.com/feature/1831 and additional information about the 395 Express Lanes is available at www.395expresslanes.com.

For sluggers, and the drivers who pick up slugs, traveling on the 95 Express Lanes will be easy – all you need is an E-ZPass® Flex^SM. With three people in the vehicle and an E-ZPass Flex set to HOV mode, sluggers travel toll-free on the 95 Express Lanes all the time.
The 95 Express Lanes will end just after Edsall Road in Fairfax County. The HOV lanes north of this point will remain HOV only, a continued incentive to slug into Arlington and Washington, D.C.Here's what you need to know to prepare for the 95 Express Lanes.

If you are a driver who picks up slugs to travel on the I-95/I-395 HOV lanes, you will need an E-ZPass Flex set to HOV mode to travel toll-free on the 95 Express Lanes:

The Express Lanes end north of Edsall Road. Standard HOV rules will apply on I-395

Be sure to get an E-ZPass Flex so you can continue to slug – available at AAA Mid-Atlantic, select Giant and Wegmans locations in Northern Virginia, at Tysons Corner Center, online and at E-ZPass customer service centers.

Already have a standard E-ZPass? If you want to carpool/slug on the Express Lanes, add an E-ZPass Flex as an additional transponder on your account, or exchange your existing standard E-ZPass for an E-ZPass Flex.