SPRINGFIELD, Virginia — Could express lanes be coming to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge? A VDOT study is proposing express lanes on Interstate 495 that would go all the way up to the Maryland side of the bridge, but the concept is already getting strong pushback.
All decisions involving the Woodrow Wilson Bridge require a regional response, so Maryland, Virginia, and Metro have to get involved. Recently the Virginia Department of Transportation proposed adding EZ Pass lanes. The proposal has caught the attention of residents, as well as elected officials who believe the plan to be a bad one.
Bill Cuttler from VDOT says they've asked the Regional Transportation Board to explore adding the express lanes from Springfield up to the Maryland side of I-495.
"There's a lot of benefits in the 94-mile network already in place in Virginia," Cuttler said.
He believes the express lanes would alleviate traffic by offering HOV lanes and transit bus lanes while also bringing in revenue. However, others disagree. Bill Pugh is with the Coalition for Smarter Growth. He claims the VDOT proposal would create a bottleneck on the Prince George's side.
"The other concern is a bigger highway generates more traffic over time," Pugh explained.
Additionally, the coalition is against the proposal, saying the middle lanes of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge are set aside for future Metro rail.
"This could block future Metro rail from going on the bridge," Pugh said.
Cuttler with VDOT said that future Metro rail would not be available for two or three decades.
"We foresee that the region may not be ready for Metro rail across the Wilson Bridge for 25-30 years," Cuttler said. However, right now he and VDOT believe the bridge is a missed opportunity.
Politicians are divided on the subject. On the Prince George's County side, County Councilman Ed Burroughs said in a statement to WUSA9 that he is opposed to the plan for congestion and environmental reasons. On the Virginia side, Jeff McKay, Fairfax County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, would like to see the plan go forward.
A regional transportation board meeting will happen on June 20. VDOT says they expect a vote on whether or not this proposal will be added to the future plans for the region.
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