GFCA Qualifies its Support for the I-495 HOT Lanes Expansion Project- Sec. of Transportation Notified:
A Perfect Storm of Traffic Gridlock 
December 4, 2020 - The GFCA has forwarded correspondence to Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation that conveys the position that GFCA recently adopted to consider action to delay implementation of plans to launch the I-495 Extension and High Occupancy Toll Lanes until additional public input is obtained and the State of Maryland provides a firm commitment to move forward on the I-495 project in concert with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

GFCA had previously supported the plans to increase the capacity of the Capital Beltway and the Toll lane project because it would provide some relief from the traffic congestion and gridlock that plagues Northern Virginia. 

However, GFCA’s letter qualified its support for the project and asked that it be delayed until assurances are made that Maryland will continue the process by widening the American Legion Bridge and the Beltway lanes on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  GFCA believes that, unless the expansion occurs on both sides of the Potomac, no actual benefits will result and traffic gridlock will just be moved slightly north.  Also, the arterial roads leading to and from the Beltway, like Georgetown Pike, will be impacted by commuters seeking alternatives to traffic jams that will occur at peak travel times.

GFCA considers that VDOT’s road widening initiatives like the 2021 launch of construction of the I-495 HOT Lanes and the simultaneous reconstruction of Route 7, coupled with plans to rebuild one-lane bridges in Great Falls and on Hunter Mill Road in Reston in the same time frame creates a “perfect storm” of traffic gridlock in this area of Northern Virginia. 

“The 18,500 residents of Great Falls will be battling the effects of VDOT’s future construction and the result of what appears to be fragmented planning on four fronts”, says GFCA President Bill Canis: “disruption to traffic will likely worsen on the Route 7 corridor that runs along the border of Great Falls, I-495 construction will be massive, we will see closure of two roads in Great Falls to rebuild bridges (Springvale Road and Walker Road), and the construction associated with the Hunter Mill, not to mention the detours and chaos that will occur in our community all of these projects kick off in 2021, as forecast by VDOT.  It will be a nightmare.”

Peter Falcone, GFCA Communications Chair, and member of the Executive Board, offered the view that  transportation issues are rapidly becoming the leading concern of the GFCA as it considers VDOT’s plans to eliminate two, one-lane, bridges in Great Falls and to launch a major construction project involving expansion of the High Occupancy Toll Lanes on the section of 495 linking Virginia to Maryland. 

These heightened concerns over traffic in Great Falls arise from the fact that the community is connected to two main commuting conduits in Northern Virginia—Route 7 and I-495.  Increased residential development occurring in communities that lie to the West bring more commuter traffic to the limited routes leading to the interstate and Metropolitan Washington, D.C.  Against this backdrop, WMATA transit officials have recently announced closure of Metro stations and overall reductions in service due to low ridership and budgetary constraints.  Falcone observed that, without these public transportation alternatives to highway commuting in Northern Virginia, there is strong likelihood that current vehicle traffic conditions will become aggravated and Great Falls will receive an extraordinarily large share of that growing commuter volume.

GFCA has also asked for more traffic studies to be conducted before construction plans are drawn.