Driving outbound on Interstate 66 in Virginia with Shenandoah Mountain visible on the far horizon, motorists should expect potential delays for the next six days.
Beginning Wednesday night through the weekend and into Monday, construction along I-66 westbound between Centreville and Gainesville will leave only one travel lane open to traffic during the overnight hours.
The left HOV lane of I-66 west will be closed around the clock. During peak hours, three travel lanes will remain open to traffic.
The closure is to accommodate roadway paving for future I-66 Express Lanes to run through the middle of the highway between current westbound and eastbound travel lanes. The Express Lanes are expected to open later this year.
Beginning at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the left lane of I-66 west, the HOV lane, will be closed around-the-clock for portions of the path between Route 29-Lee Highway in Centreville and Route 29 in Gainesville.
Initially, the left lane will close in the area of Route 234 Business, Sudley Road, in Manassas. As crews complete paving operations heading in the direction of Route 29 in Gainesville, new portions of the left lane will no longer be open to traffic.
Starting Friday night at 9 p.m., the left lane will close near Route 29 in Centreville, as paving work moves west toward Manassas.
Schedules may be adjusted if rain causes delays in the work.
The paving work is part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project that’s being billed as an answer to congestion that will offer new travel choices between Gainesville and the Capital Beltway.
The project, when completed, will include new and improved bus service and transit routes, interchange improvements, 11 miles of new bike and pedestrian trails and more than 4,000 new park-and-ride spaces that will be able to easily access the news Express Lanes.
