A Bridge to Faster Travel: Transurban’s Opitz Boulevard Project

by Transurban’s Jacqueline Woodbridge, Jennifer Modugno, P.E., and Jeff Taylor, P.E.

Overlooking I-95 in Virginia, Jennifer Modugno stands on a brand-new sidewalk that connects—for the first time—pedestrian access over one of the busiest highways in the United States.

“It might seem like just a bridge and a ramp, but to me and my neighbors, it means so much more,” said Modugno, the project director for Transurban’s 95 Express Lanes enhancement, adding access to the dynamically-tolled roadway at Opitz Boulevard.

Growing up in Prince William County, she has seen first-hand the Woodbridge, Va., area flourish in recent years. “I’m proud to provide more travel choices to the neighborhood I’ve grown up in and be a part of strengthening our infrastructure for the next generation.”

While still under construction for a few more weeks—opening to traffic in November 2024—the new overpass and ramp will soon further unlock mobility for an area that has been plagued by worsening congestion.

In partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Transurban North America’s latest project will serve one of the fastest-growing regions in the country with quicker, more reliable trips via direct access to the 95 Express Lanes, and turn lanes added to Opitz Boulevard on the overpass to relieve local congestion.

“Our collaborations with Transurban, now spanning nearly 17 years, have helped to alleviate congestion throughout Northern Virginia—and the Opitz Boulevard project is projected to do the same,” said VDOT’s Northern Virginia District Megaprojects Director Michelle Shropshire, P.E. “Faster trips on the 95, 395 and 495 Express Lanes also bring relief to general-purpose lanes and local roads, and this project is taking it a step further in adding capacity and a sidewalk to the Opitz Boulevard bridge.”

Those faster trips are going to make a big difference for Virginians. Nearly 70 percent of workers in Prince William County travel alone by car, averaging 38-minute-long commutes. With a new way to use the 95 Express Lanes and a wider, safer bridge at Opitz Boulevard, the project—about 30 miles south of Washington, D.C.—will boost the local economy by improving mobility.

The 95 Express Lanes Opitz Boulevard project will not only help people get in and out of the southern Prince William County community, but also provides a critical connection from one side to the other—and the booming residential neighborhoods nearby. The largest outlet mall in Virginia is less than a mile from the new bridge, bringing more customers from across the region.

“Since 1985, Potomac Mills Mall has been a retail mainstay in Prince William—and we have seen the area around us grow exponentially in that time,” said Bethany Webb, director of marketing and business development at Potomac Mills. “With better access up and down I-95 via the Express Lanes and easier navigation to our 200+ stores on local roads, we are excited for the new interchange at Opitz Boulevard for our community and our customers.”

In addition to local businesses, the interchange will provide further connections to the region’s main medical center—Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center—which includes an emergency department and a level III trauma center.

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center President Jeff Joyner said, “The new Express Lanes access right next to the Sentara medical campus will mean an easier commute for many of our team members who live along this heavily-travelled corridor—but the more important benefit is to our patients and customers accessing services at Sentara’s hospital, imaging facility, therapy center or from our medical group. With faster trips to get care at our facilities and special access for our emergency responders, we are excited to welcome the 95 Express Lanes to the neighborhood.”

These successes have been a long time in the making. The estimated $70 million project, fully funded by Transurban, broke ground in 2022 and undertook rehabilitation of the Opitz Boulevard bridge on behalf of VDOT, according to Jeff Taylor, vice president of delivery for Transurban North America.

“While the existing bridge was in fair condition, this project allowed for a complete rehabilitation and addition of the new ramp, which I’d like to think was a win-win-win scenario for travelers, VDOT, and Transurban,” he said.

A large portion of the bridge deck had to be replaced in a tight space, sandwiched between existing local roads, the interstate, and the Express Lanes. Despite the lack of elbow room and complexity of the project, it was imperative to keep vehicles and pedestrians moving safely and maintaining critical access to the hospital nearby. To keep people moving throughout construction while crews worked on the deck, bearings and joints, the project team shifted travel lanes on Opitz Boulevard and conducted short overnight closures on I-95 and the 95 Express Lanes. And to maintain a safe environment for workers, they created temporary infrastructure to support machinery placement and materials staging.

Despite the inherent challenges of the project, Transurban’s project team, in coordination with Shirley Construction, incurred no major safety incidents and kept at least one lane of traffic open throughout construction.

Modugno’s team is ready to add the project to the 95 Express Lanes network in the coming weeks: “Between the late nights and inherent challenges, I’m proud to have worked on the Opitz project—not only because it’s personal to me, but because from now on I can look at that interchange and say, ‘we built that.’”