On paper, the plan to add toll lanes to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge doesn’t preclude the possibility of adding Metro access one day, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson joined the Coalition for Smarter Growth in expressing concerns that the new express lanes would make future rail plans unfeasible.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently considering converting a portion of the bridge reserved for future HOV/express bus/rail transit into toll lanes. VDOT said future transit could be implemented by shifting one thru lane to a local lane and reducing to one express lane in each direction. But Wilson said Alexandria has had a history of legal fights over the bridge, the notable one being a lawsuit that resulted in the bridge being 10 lanes instead of 12.
“There have been legitimate concerns voiced by folks in our community and advocates throughout the region that the creation of these express lanes and the potential loss of right of way would preclude transit in the future,” Wilson said.
Wilson said WMATA and VDOT have been communicating back and forth about the project but said there are still “considerable gaps to get through.”
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority met earlier this month and supported a letter of endorsement (page 61) for VDOT’s I-495 Southside Express Lanes (SEL) Project for inclusion in Visualize 2050 Plan Update and FY2026-29 Transportation Improvement Program. Wilson voted to abstain at the meeting.
One of the major voices of support for the toll lanes was Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, who said the toll lanes were a stepping stone toward rail rather than an obstacle.
“Fairfax County supports rail on this bridge,” McKay said. “To me, that’s not what the question is. The question is: how do you cement ridership for rail in the future? In every corridor we have Metro now, we had robust bus transportation in those corridors to build ridership to justify building rail in the future.”
McKay said without express lanes, there’s a possibility that the Woodrow Wilson Bridge could face the same level of congestion as the American Legion Bridge.
“You can have all the language and agreements that say this transition is possible,” Wilson said, “but when it comes to the reality of doing that, we have concerns that this arrangement will create a really strong barrier against that happening.”
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