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VDOT outlines I‑495 NEXT progress, 'Big Beam Weekend' and Southside NEPA study; supervisors press for community protections
Summary
VDOT told Fairfax supervisors the $660 million I‑495 NEXT express‑lanes extension is under construction with a major girder‑setting operation planned for late January; staff also presented an NEPA study of extending managed lanes on the Beltway’s Southside, prompting questions about local impacts, revegetation and Maryland’s support.
VDOT officials on Thursday briefed the Fairfax County Transportation Committee on two Beltway projects and a focused construction operation planned for early next year. Michelle Shropshire, VDOT’s Mega Projects Director for the Northern Virginia District, said the $660,000,000 I‑495 NEXT public‑private partnership with Transurban has been under construction since 2022, with the new express lanes expected to open to the public by the end of next year and the overall project completed by mid‑2026.
Shropshire described a concentrated weekend operation — dubbed “Big Beam Weekend” — targeted for late January to set five large bridge girders each weighing roughly 70–80 tons. VDOT plans to condense the most disruptive work over a single weekend to shorten the duration of impacts, using nighttime lane closures and signed detours. The agency said it is coordinating incident management and emergency access with state…
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