Virginia transit officials are making the case that Express lanes should be built on the south side of the Capital Beltway, through Northern Virginia and Maryland.
The plan would create toll lanes stretching from Springfield, through Alexandria, across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge and into Maryland.
Not everyone is giving the idea the green light.
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The toll lane plan would create a “Lexus lane” and only benefit some while creating a traffic nightmare for others, Dan Storck, Mount Vernon District supervisor, said at a meeting in Fairfax County this week.
“We are truly going to create a Lexus lane, and that's not what, in general, our community is going to support or I will support,” he said.
Some drivers said they see the benefit of the lanes.
Transportation
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“If it helps the traffic in the area, yeah,” one woman said.
Maryland officials have pushed back against the plan, saying they believe it will create more congestion on their side of the Wilson Bridge.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay pointed to the traffic data.
“When you look at these travel numbers and you look at where people are coming from and where they are going, yeah, they are leaving Maryland and coming to Virginia to work. I mean, that's what we see every day in this section of the Beltway,” he said. “That's just the reality of what we are dealing with. And if Maryland doesn't support this project in the hopes that that will somehow change overnight, that's not going to happen.”
The Virginia Department of Transportation says if nothing is built by 2050, the time it would take to get from Braddock Road in Virginia, across the Wilson Bridge and into Maryland could take an hour and 40 minutes longer.
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Drivers can pay to use Express lanes to get around traffic or ride with three or more people to use the lanes for free.
A vote on whether to include new toll lanes in the region’s long-range transportation plans is scheduled for next year.
