10 Years of Virginia Express Lanes

What happened: Nov. 17 marked the 10^th anniversary of the I-495 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia.

What it’s meant: According to operator Transurban North America, Express Lanes over the last decade on 495, 95, and 395 have:

• Helped nearly 10 million customers save more than 33 million hours;
• Created more than $8 billion in economic activity, 53,000 jobs, and contracted nearly $1 billion in small, women, and minority owned businesses;
• Provided multi-modal solutions that have helped bus trips and HOV-3 trips grow by more than 105 percent each; and
• Resulted in partnerships with 350 different organizations to contribute more than $2.3 million to strengthen communities through community grant programs.

Why it matters: The Express Lanes are a mobility solution that have helped provide traffic relief to nearly 10 million customers in one of the nation’s most congested areas.

Photo courtesy of Transurban North America