Lane has been selected to design and build the 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 Next) in Virginia. The project will extend the I‐495 Express Lanes to reduce congestion and improve safety along one of the most congested corridors in the United States.
The contract brings to €10.6bn the total value of new orders that Webuild has acquired, is in the process of finalising, or for which it has become the preferred bidder so far this year. The figure does not include the €13bn contract to build a high‐speed railway in Texas.
The 495 Next project has been commissioned as a public‐private partnership (PPP) by Transurban for Virginia Department of Transportation. It will connect to the future I‐495 (Capital Beltway) in Maryland to enhance connectivity in the area, including an expansion of the American Legion Bridge between Virginia and Maryland.
The 495 Next project will have Lane extend the express lanes for 4km from south of Old Dominion Drive northward to the George Washington Memorial Parkway, adding two high-occupancy travel lanes in each direction. The changes are expected to cut travel times by 24 minutes during peak commute times. The project’s aim is to provide more consistent, reliable, and predictable travel times.
By also creating incentives for buses, car-pools and other means of transport, the project is expected to help move 2,500 more people per hour in both directions combined through the busy I‐495 corridor.
Work is to start early 2022 and be completed in 2025.
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