Meeting On I-395 HOV Ramp Planned In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — More traffic implications for Alexandria's Seminary Road area could be on the way under a proposal from Interstate 395 Express Lanes operator Transurban. The proposal to change the Seminary Road high occupancy vehicle (HOV) ramp from I-395 Express Lanes to a high occupancy toll (HOT) ramp will be the subject of a meeting on Monday, Dec. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at T.C. Williams High School's Minnie Howard Campus, 3801 West Braddock Road, Alexandria.

Transurban and the Virginia Department of Transportation will share results of an operations analysis on the traffic and safety impacts of the proposed conversion to an HOT ramp. The south-facing HOV ramp at Seminary Road is currently open to vehicles with three or more people as well as transit. The proposal would allow vehicles with less than three people exit from the 395 Express Lanes into Alexandria.

The proposal comes in light of several traffic changes. The 395 HOV Lanes became Express Lanes on Nov. 17, allowing vehicles with less than three people to travel by paying a toll. The Express Lanes run from Edsall Road to the 14th Street Bridge in DC. Tolling occurs 24 hours a day, but vehicles with three or more people and an E-Z Pass in HOV mode do not pay a toll.

The other major change was a road diet for a 0.9 mile section of Seminary Road between North Howard Street and North Quaker Lane. This reduced the road from two through lanes in each direction to one through lane in each direction with a center turn lane and a bike lane in each direction. The portion of Seminary Road between I-395 and North Howard Street was not part of the road diet.

City of Alexandria staff received the study in November and plan to release comments after a review period. Last year, former Mayor Allison Silberberg wrote to the Virginia Department of Transportation opposing the HOT ramp, citing concerns of cut-through traffic in neighborhoods near I-395.

A previous memo to City Council suggested the study used traffic data from October and November 2018.

The meeting on the I-395/Seminary Road HOV ramp will feature a 7 p.m. presentation. VDOT and Transurban project staff will be on hand to answer questions. Residents can give comments at the meeting or send them by Dec. 31 to Mr. Abi Lerner, Virginia Department of Transportation, 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, or by email to 395expresslanes@VDOT.virginia.gov with "I-395/Seminary Road HOV Ramp" as the subject line.