GAINESVILLE, VA. - Interstate 66 commuters in Gainesville will have two new lanes to use come Tuesday.
A new travel lane and a High Occupancy Vehicle lane are both scheduled to open as part of $75 million project to increase the highway's capacity from four to eight lanes between Prince William Parkway / Va. 234 Bypass and Va. 29 in Gainesville.
The eastbound side of the highway will also see congestion relief in May, when another travel lane and an HOV lane open. When they do, the commuters should have an easier go of it during rush-hour periods.
"When we open up the lanes and have them all working in the full configuration, we will then pave the section of highway as a whole, one lane at a time," said Virginia Department of Transportation project manager Avtar Singh.
The paving is expected to cause minimal delays but is needed to give the highway's surface a more uniform texture and look.
The additional lanes come as work continues to overall improvements to the Va. 29 / I-66 interchange. Since 2006, construction crews have worked on a $425 million series of projects to improve the I-66 at Va. 29 and the Va. 29 and Linton Hall Road interchanges.
The two already completed phases of the project were to extend a 1.3-mile stretch of University Boulevard in Gainesville, connecting Va. 29 and Wellington Road and widening I-66 between Va. 24 Business and the Prince William Parkway / Va. 234 Bypass.
The new lanes opening Tuesday and improvements on the I-66 / Va. 29 interchange mark the third phase of the project.
Next year, work will begin on the fourth and final phase of the project, at Va. 29 and Linton Hall Road. Considered the centerpiece of the project, one new overpass will carry cars and trucks over railroad tracks that run along Va. 29, and another will carry vehicles traveling on Linton Hall and Gallerher roads over the tracks.
Work on the entire project will be completed in 2014.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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