The new expansion is aimed at reducing rush-hour traffic. Transportation Reporter Adam Tuss has an exclusive look.
A new two-mile extension to I-95 Express Lanes in Stafford County, Virginia, will open on Tuesday.
The lanes, which cost $50 million to build, were designed to cut rush-hour traffic and improve safety, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said.
Northbound traffic will be able to enter the express lanes south of the Garrisonville Road (Virginia Route 610) overpass, according to a statement VDOT issued. Southbound traffic will be able to continue past Garrisonville and merge about one mile south of Garrisonville Road.
The southbound ramp will open on Tuesday afternoon, and the northbound ramp will open early Wednesday.
The traffic on I-95 is known for being congested. Peggy Robidoux experiences it each time she makes the drive from Massachusetts to visit family in Virginia.
"I said, every time that we come down, it is worse,” said Robidoux. “They’ve got to do something.”
Drivers will need an E-ZPass to use the express lanes. Carpoolers will need an E-ZPass Flex, plus three or more people in the vehicle, to travel toll free.
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It costs $35 to open an E-ZPass account, which can be set up on VDOT's website.
Construction on the project began in July 2016.
VDOT is also working on FredEx, a 10-mile extension of the expressway, said spokeswoman Darragh Frye.
