Capital Beltway to Include New Toll Lanes

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he Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C., will add toll lanes on a 14-mile stretch in northern Virginia to ease congestion, according to the companies that have been tapped to build them.

The companies said in a press release Friday that large trucks will not be able to use the high-occupancy toll, or HOT lanes.

Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Transurban Group said they would finance the estimated $900 million construction project.

In a front-page story Friday the Washington Post cited Virginia transportation officials who said construction on the two toll lanes in each direction of Interstate 495 south of Washington could start as soon as next year and be ready by 2010.

The cost of using the so-called high occupancy toll lanes had not been determined yet, the Post reported. In other states, such as California, similar lanes start at 25 cents and can run to $8 for a one-way trip, the paper said.

Other regional jurisdictions, such as nearby Maryland, are studying similar plans but have not set any definitive schedules for HOT lane construction, the Post said.