A proposal to widen and add tolls to busy I-66 outside the Beltway is getting raves from some commuters – but also getting opposition from some residents representing dozens of homes and businesses in the construction zone.
As many as 35 homes could be affected by the widening of the road, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
And that has upset Beni Venkatesan, who said he feels like he’s being punished for living closer in so people who live farther out can have an easier commute.
“We made a conscious choice to live closer to Tysons Corner, closer to Vienna, closer to D.C.,” Venkatesan said. “We may have a smaller house, but we chose not to live in that traffic.”
The proposal is part of a multi-year planning process to address traffic on I-66 through Northern Virginia. Tomorrow, VDOT is expected to announce plans to add toll lanes to I-66 inside the Beltway, but that section would not be widened.
VDOT said the proposal is in its earliest stages.
"We do want to reiterate that we will be refining our design and continuing to work with the citizens as well as the elected officials to lessen those impacts as we move forward," said Renee Hamilton of VDOT.
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The earliest that any land would be taken for the project is 2016.
To learn more about the project, visit VDOT's website.
