Transportation officials are examining options to expand the use of shoulder lanes on Interstate 66, and are considering a new signage system that would warn drivers of impending backups on the often-clogged highway.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has discussed plans to open I-66 shoulder lanes to traffic during non-rush hour periods of congestion.
The shoulder lanes on I-66 have been open during rush hours since 1993, but congestion on the busy interstate has bulged beyond the morning and evening peak periods.
“Old conceptions about rush hour are gone, we have rush hour 24-7 around here,” said Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee. “It makes no sense to have these lanes not available to the public when there’s this much congestion.”
The project would cost roughly $8 million, according to Virginia Department of Transportation estimates.
“You can’t do much in transportation for $8 million, and this is a chance to significantly improve I-66 while we try to move forward with a long-term solution,” said Supervisor Pat Herrity, R-Springfield.
Herrity said long-term solutions could include high-occupancy toll lanes and a new rail line.
Funding for the plan has not been identified. But VDOT officials and several members of the Board of Supervisors have voiced their commitment to the project.
Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton told local and regional transportation leaders at a meeting that the state was committed to improving traffic on one of the region’s busiest interstates.
“When I look out there and see the next big project in this area, I see the need for capacity improvements to I-66,” Connaughton said.
State transportation officials have submitted requests for federal funding to pay for the shoulder lane project, as well as a new “active traffic management” system on I-66 between Interstate 495 and the county’s western border.
“This new system would be able to sense the amount of congestion and be able to open and close lanes on its own,” McKay said.
The system would include “variable speed limit signage,” which would adjust speed limits depending on the amount of congestion and would warn drivers of traffic backups. Installing the new technology would cost up to $32 million, $27 million of which would come from federal grants.
Fairfax transportation chief Kathy Ichter said VDOT officials expect to receive word by the end of the year regarding their grant applications, and could open I-66 shoulder lanes during non-peak hours in the next two years.
