December 22, 2014
As part of our long-term commitment to the communities in which we live, work and operate, Transurban-Fluor started the 1,000 Trees in 1,000 Days program in order to give back to the communities surrounding the I-395/95 corridors – and return some of the greenery, which makes our area so beautiful.
The tree plantings began in Fall 2012, and we are excited to announce that we reached our 1,000 trees commitment, with the last trees planted in November.
Transurban-Fluor partnered with communities located near the Express Lanes construction corridor and provided a total of 1,000 Trees to 17 different organizations and communities – such as partnering with Girl Scout Troop 6115 to plant 22 trees at the Burke United Methodist Church in Burke, Virginia and assist students, teachers and clergy at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and School in planting a ceremonial tree in Triangle, Virginia.
Applications were accepted and trees were awarded throughout the 29-month 95 Express Lanes construction schedule.
December 5, 2014
On November 21, 2014, Transurban-Fluor was recognized by the Fairfax County Park Foundation for their support of Park Authority programs and projects at the 2014 Elly Doyle Park Service Awards ceremony in Fairfax, Virginia.
Transurban-Fluor was awarded the Eakin Philanthropy Award, which recognizes significant financial or in-kind contributions; projects with broad, long term benefits to the community and visionary contributions; all of which create new programs or facilities and provide a new approach to addressing community needs.
Since 2009, the 495 and 95 Express Lanes Community Grants awarded to the Fairfax County Park Foundation have helped support a broad spectrum of agency efforts – such as the Wakefield Run Stream Restoration and improvements to the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail.
To date, the 495 and 95 Express Lanes grants have been awarded to 112 organizations in the Express Lanes corridor through the Community Grant Program. The Express Lanes Community Grant Program supports organizations that sustain, enhance or protect the local environment and communities surrounding the Express Lanes corridor.
We take a sustainable approach to all operations, projects and business practices to create the best outcomes for communities. Our sustainability highlights three focus areas – be good neighbors, use less and think long term. As the operators of the 495 and 95 Express Lanes, we are long term partners in the Northern Virginia region.
For more information on the 495 and 95 Express Lanes Community Grant Programs, please visit: https://www.495expresslanes.com/grant-program and http://95expresslanes.com/grant-program, respectively.
December 1, 2014
Opened November 2012, the 495 Express Lanes have completed two full years of operations and have changed the commute on the Capital Beltway. The 495 Express Lanes continue to provide the region’s travelers with faster, more reliable trips, options for carpools and bus riders, and enhanced incident response.
Download this feature below to see key stats from our first two years of operations.
October 22, 2014
The vast majority of customers travel on the Express Lanes with a valid E-ZPass® properly mounted in their vehicle and enjoy the convenience of the Express Lanes. However, there are some drivers using the lanes without a valid E-ZPass properly mounted in their car. We want to make sure these drivers know why they might receive a toll invoice and what to do when a toll invoice arrives.
In order to avoid toll notices and ensure a smooth trip on the Express Lanes, it’s important to keep the following in mind:
Make sure you have an E-ZPass before you use the Express Lanes.
E-ZPass is available at 75 convenient Northern Virginia retail locations including Wegmans, select Virginia DMVs and Giant Food Stores or at one of the E-ZPass Customer Service Centers; online; or by calling Virginia E-ZPass at (877) 762-7824.
Before your trip on the Express Lanes:
Need help?
Go to E-ZPass to:
Go to Express Lanes to:
After you travel on the Express Lanes:
July 10, 2014
About the Matthew Sonnen Eagle Project
Matthew Sonnen’s Eagle project got started with a simple idea – to beautify the Annandale area and provide a more welcoming environment to travelers. The result of Matthew’s hard work was a transformed, manicured roadside that provides a welcoming gateway into the Annandale community.
Eagle Scouts have the opportunity to complete a major service project that benefits their communities. Boy Scout Troop 1532 member, Matthew Sonnen, chose to improve his community by installing an “Annandale Welcomes You” sign and new landscape design to a grassy area next to Gallows Road that was overgrown with weeds and littered with trash.
“A key part of an Eagle project is that the Scout must do most of the planning, coordination and execution of the project independently,” says Tom Sonnen, Matthew’s father. “He met with the County to learn about their welcome signs, he met with sign contractors for design ideas…had meetings at the site with a VDOT landscape designer and met with VDOT traffic engineers.”
The Eagle project provided Matthew with a better understanding of coordinating and planning events, leadership and managing volunteer workers and a greater appreciation for the processes VDOT has in place for projects.
495 Express Lanes Grant Program Support
Over the course of five weekends, Matthew led a group of boy scouts from Boy Scout Troop 1532 and adult volunteers to clear the project site. Together these volunteers built a framework to support the sign, installed the landscaping, mulched the area and watered the new plants.
The grant funds provided by Transurban assisted with the welcome sign, materials needed for the volunteers and the landscaping of the project site. “Transurban, Supervisor Penny Gross’ office, VDOT and other staff members were fantastic in helping a teenager navigate the processes and make this vision a reality,” says Sonnen.
The 495 Express Lanes team chose to support the Matthew Sonnen Eagle project as it falls directly in the 495 Express Lanes project corridor – adjacent to the Capital Beltway at Gallows Road. Additionally, the rehabilitated median will beautify the area, benefit local citizens and businesses and showcase the Annandale community for many years.
Boy Scout Troop 1532 has agreed to provide annual upkeep of the site as an annual service project to maintain the area indefinitely for the Annandale community.
More Information
To learn more about Boy Scout Troop 1532, visit: http://www.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unithome.aspx?UID=27533
July 10, 2014
About Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project
In order to prevent Wakefield Run streambeds and banks from further erosion and from sending sediment into Accotink Creek – a watershed in Fairfax County – the Fairfax County Park Foundation launched the Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project.
The Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project is part of an ongoing effort by the Fairfax County Park Foundation to improve the quality of the county’s surface waters and restore streams and stream valleys. As part of the restoration project, segments of Accotink Creek were graded, stabilized and planted in order to prevent further erosion. Completed in March 2014, the Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project was the one of the first restorations in Accotink Creek.
“The Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project provides safer and easier access to a remote area of the county during all seasons of the year,” says Margaret Thaxton, Director of Development for the Fairfax County Park Foundation. “The newly stabilized stream crossings are used by walkers, hikers, runners, mountain bikers and park and utility company service vehicles. More importantly – the improved water quality can be enjoyed by everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
The water quality benefits realized on a yearly basis by the Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project include the removal of 40 pounds of phosphorous, 494 pounds of nitrogen and 76,000 pounds of suspended solids.
495 Express Lanes Grant Program Support
The grant funds provided by Transurban enabled the planting of native trees and vegetative cover in the project area. The plantings provided the project area with environmental sustainability, hill stabilization and an improved visual appearance for all stream valley users.
“The Wakefield Run Stream Restoration Project is another excellent example of how government agencies, local businesses, dedicated volunteers and corporations – like Transurban – can work together to accomplish something that individually would not have been possible,” says Thaxton.
Staff from the partnering agencies and organizations, as well as local residents, will continue to monitor the quality of Wakefield Run in order to keep the area visually appealing to all stream valley users.
More Information
To find out more about the Fairfax County Park Foundation and ways to get involved, visit http://www.fairfaxparkfoundation.org/. To learn more about the stream restoration, visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/streamrestore.htm.
June 9, 2014
Alexandria, Va. – The 495 Express Lanes announced today that new pavement markings with the E-ZPass logo have been added to six Express Lanes entry points. The pavement markings will help drivers understand the E-ZPass requirement and provide indication, as well as further confirmation, that drivers are in the correct turn lane to access the Express Lanes.
The on-road enhancements include seven purple pavement markings with the E-ZPass logo – six feet wide by eight feet tall – which have been installed at six Express Lanes entry points:
The E-ZPass pavement markings will be in the right and left lanes when approaching the entrance to the Express Lanes at the Lee Highway/Route 29 interchange. At other interchanges, the pavement markings will be in the left lane when approaching the entrance to the Express Lanes.
“The 495 Express Lanes continue to provide drivers with predictable travel times and valuable time savings,” said Nic Barr, vice president, operations, Transurban. “We are focused on making the Express Lanes even easier to use so drivers can spend less in traffic and more time where they’re going. The new pavement markings serve as another reminder that an E-ZPass is required to use the Express Lanes and will help drivers navigate their way onto the lanes.”
Before taking a trip on the 495 Express Lanes, drivers are reminded to:
For mapping tools, safety reminders and information on how to access and exit the 495 Express Lanes, visit 495ExpressLanes.com.
About the 495 Express Lanes
The 495 Express Lanes are high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes that operate on I-495/Capital Beltway to provide drivers faster and more predictable travel options on I-495. The two HOT lanes in each direction on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway are from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road (approximately 14 miles). Delivered through a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation and Transurban-Fluor, the Express Lanes give drivers the freedom to control how and when they arrive at their destination. For more information, please visit 495ExpressLanes.com.
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March 3, 2014
November 20, 2013
Santa christened the 495 Express Lanes a year ago with a ride to get to his “office” that was mostly for show, but since then many Northern Virginians have made a faster, more reliable trip on the Capital Beltway a way of life.
The 495 Express Lanes opened a month early on November 17, 2012, introducing the biggest change to the region’s traffic patterns in more than 30 years and improving the traveling experience for everyone who uses the Capital Beltway. In its first year the 495 Express Lanes delivered on the promise of faster, more reliable trips; new options for carpools and bus riders; and enhanced incident response.
Please join us as we take a look back at the first year of operations on the 495 Express Lanes.
495 Express Lanes: The First Year
July 10, 2013
About LCNV
One of the great things about Northern Virginia is the diversity of its communities. People from many different places around the world come to live in this area. While diversity enriches our culture, it also brings the issue of language barriers for those who are not native English speakers. To help newcomers improve their English and more fully participate in family and civic life, the Literary Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV) offers basic literacy courses.
Founded by volunteers in 1962, LCNV is Virginia’s oldest community-based adult literacy nonprofit. Its mission is to teach adults the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and understanding English in order to participate fully in their communities. The organization offers four literacy-based programs that teach basic English skills to students at different levels. There are 12 sites throughout Fairfax County and Alexandria City that offer one-on-one tutoring programs and group classroom programs based on students’ needs.
Students improve skills in language and literacy, which translates into family skills, self-sufficiency and job preparation. Last year, LCNV enrolled 1,496 low-income adults in its programs. LCNV programs focus on pre-literate adults and adults with learning deficiencies.
The Family Learning Program provides English literacy classes for families with children and low-income, immigrant parents in a collaborative classroom environment. Children participate in literacy-related activities while their parents learn English in a way that relates to their daily lives. The classes focus on family learning and encourage parental involvement.
“More than half of the adult learners at the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia are motivated to help their children in school,” said Patti Donnelly, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. “Helping adults develop basic literacy and language skills also influences the next generation. I would like to see the Family Learning Program continue to grow as the organization grows.”
495 Express Lanes Grant Support
The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia relies on the partnerships and support of local residents and businesses to help fund their much-needed programs. The Transurban-Fluor 495 Express Lanes Grant Program awarded a grant to the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia’s Family Learning Program located at Crestwood Elementary in Springfield. The program marked its 12th successful year of offering the literacy classes to adults in the area in 2013.
The 495 Express Lanes team chose to support LCNV’s Family Learning Program because of its dedication to enriching the lives of members of the community.
“Transurban-Fluor believes in supporting organizations that work to improve their communities,” said Kevin Ginnerty, Transurban’s Director of Project Delivery. “The Family Learning Program provides Northern Virginians with an opportunity to improve their English language skills in order to live more fulfilled lives. We are proud to support an organization that has a mission to improve the lives of the members of our community.”
More Information
To find out more about the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia and ways to get involved, visit www.lcnv.org. To stay informed about the latest LCNV news, please “like” their Facebook page.