News & Events

Public Meetings

Location and Design Public Hearing 

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) held a Location and Design Public Hearing to present the findings of the environmental assessment and draft design plans to extend the 495 Express Lanes by approximately three miles from the Dulles Toll Road interchange to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the vicinity of the American Legion Bridge to reduce congestion, improve safety and travel reliability, and provide additional travel choices. This project involves a change in limited access control. 

NOTE: This was the rescheduled Location and Design Public Hearing previously scheduled for March 12, 2020. The public comment period remained open during the interim and all previously-submitted comments were included as part of this hearing. The public comment period concluded December 4, 2020.

Virtual Public Hearing 
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) held a virtual Location and Design Public Hearing on Monday, October 5, 2020, for the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) Project. See a recording of the session below. Access the presentation here.

In-Person Hearing (By Appointment Only)
VDOT held an in-person, by-appointment-only public hearing session on Thursday, October 8, 2020, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the McLean Community Center. More than 20 people met with project leadership and subject matter experts to ask questions and provide feedback on the project. The session included a narrated video presentation, a printed presentation, and court reporter to receive formal comment from attendees.

Virtual Question and Answer Sessions
VDOT held two virtual question-and-answer sessions prior to the public hearings. Click to view recordings of the sessions from Sept. 28 and Sept. 30.

Providing Comment

The comment period on the environmental assessment and proposed preliminary design concluded on December 4, 2020. All comments that were received were reviewed by the project team and included in the public record for the project's Location and Design Public Hearing. Comment responses were included in the final public hearing documents, and are available on this website.

REVISED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

Document File / Size
Revised Environmental Assessment and Appendices PDF, 172MB
Technical Memorandum Errata Sheet PDF, 150KB
Final Approved IJR with Signatures PDF, 86MB
Final IJR Appendices PDF, 284MB
Environmental Assessment Traffic and Transportation Technical Report PDF, 129MB

PROPOSED DESIGN

Document File / Size
Design Boards PDF, 9.3MB
Design Plans PDF, 51.9MB
Limited Access Lines (Updated 3/3/2020) PDF, 5.1MB
Noise Barrier Roll Plots PDF, 5.8MB

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

Document File / Size
Environmental Assessment Full Report PDF, 59.2MB
Environmental Assessment Without Appendices PDF, 15.7MB
Environmental Assessment Appendices PDF, 44MB
Air Quality Tech Report PDF, 9.7MB
Air Quality Tech Report Appendices PDF, 5.9MB
Alternatives Development Technical Memo PDF, 14.6MB
Cultural Resources Survey Tech Report PDF, 12MB
Cultural Resources Survey Tech Report Appendices PDF, 36.2MB
George Washington Memorial Parkway Visualization Booklet PDF, 84.1MB
Hazardous Materials Tech Memo PDF, 1.7MB
Hazardous Materials Tech Memo Appendices PDF, 2.9MB
Indirect & Cumulative Effects Tech Report PDF, 6.2MB
Natural Resources Tech Report PDF, 11.8MB
Natural Resources Tech Report Appendices PDF, 40.7MB
Preliminary Noise Analysis Tech Report PDF, 2.6MB
Preliminary Noise Analysis Tech Report Appendices PDF, 52.4MB
Section 4(f) & Section 6(f) Technical Memo PDF, 11.5MB
Socioeconomic and Land Use Tech Report PDF, 5.7MB
Traffic & Transportation Technical Report and Appendices PDF, 129MB
Traffic & Transportation Technical Report Errata (May 7, 2020) PDF, 198KB
Traffic & Transportation Technical Report Errata #2 (June 1, 2020) PDF, 267KB
Traffic & Transportation Technical Report Errata #3 (January 3, 2022) PDF, 180KB

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND RESPONSES FOR AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS

Document File / Size
Public Comments and Responses – Summary Table PDF, 300KB
Public Comments and ResponsesFull Table PDF, 7.5MB
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (3/11/20) PDF, 167KB
Prince William Chamber of Commerce (3/11/20) PDF, 435KB
NAIOP (3/18/20) PDF, 140KB
Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce (4/6/20) PDF, 144KB
Saigon Citizens Association (4/15/20) PDF, 261KB
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and Audubon Naturalist Society (4/17/20) PDF, 248KB
National Park Service (4/29/20) PDF, 823KB
Southern Environmental Law Center (5/8/20) PDF, 4.4MB
Great Falls Citizens Association (5/3/20) PDF, 4.2MB
Fairfax County Park Authority (6/19/20) PDF, 2.3MB
Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (8/20/20) PDF, 119KB
McLean Citizens Assoc Resolution on 495 NEXT (9/2/2020) PDF, 202KB
McLean Citizens Assoc Letter to Virginia Secretary of Transportation (9/10/20) PDF, 93KB
McLean Citizens Assoc Response Letter from Secretary Valentine (10/5/2020) PDF, 495KB
Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (9/28/20) PDF, 113KB
Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and Audubon Naturalist Society (9/30/20) PDF, 2.1MB
Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (9/30/20) PDF, 196KB
Virginia Transit Association (9/30/20) PDF, 107KB
Trinity Group, LLC (10/2/20) PDF, 1.8MB
National Park Service with comment response matrix (10/5/20) PDF, 351KB
Timberly South HOA (10/5/20) PDF, 1.4MB
Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (10/5/20) PDF, 84KB
2030 Group (10/5/20) PDF, 72KB
Dulles Area Transportation Association (105/520) PDF, 100KB
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (10/8/20) PDF, 414KB
Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance (10/8/20) PDF, 131KB
Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (10/12/20) PDF, 76KB
Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce (10/12/20) PDF, 137KB
Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce (10/12/20) PDF, 157KB
Arlington Chamber of Commerce (10/14/20) PDF, 200KB
Virginians for Better Transportation (10/15/20) PDF, 72KB
Washington Airports Task Force (10/26/20) PDF, 217KB
Virginia Chamber of Commerce (10/29/20) PDF, 70KB
Greater Washington Partnership (11/9/20) PDF, 211KB
Greater Washington Partnership response letter from Rob Cary (3/26/21) PDF, 251KB
Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce (11/18/20) PDF, 137KB
National Parks Conservation Association (11/24/20) PDF, 1.4MB
Great Falls Citizens Association (11/30/20) PDF, 1.7MB
Great Falls Citizens Association response letter from Rob Cary (3/26/21) PDF, 251KB
Fairfax County BOS – Design Letter (12/3/20) PDF, 2.7MB
Fairfax County BOS – Design Attachment (12/3/20) PDF, 3MB
Fairfax County BOS – EA Letter (12/3/20) PDF, 3.1MB
Fairfax County BOS – EA Attachment (12/3/20) PDF, 3MB
Fairfax County BOS Response Letter from Rob Cary (2/22/21) PDF, 60KB
Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (12/4/20) PDF, 271KB
Environmental Protection Agency (12/4/20) PDF, 4.2MB
Tysons Partnership (12/4/20) PDF, 343KB
Northern Virginia Citizens Association (12/4/20) PDF, 13.3MB
Fairfax County Park Authority (12/4/20) PDF, 2.2MB

RESOURCES

Document File / Size
Location and Design Public Hearing News Release Website