July 10, 2025

What's Happening?

495 NEXT project crews will install approximately 300 linear feet of noise wall panels along Live Oak Drive during overnight hours (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) starting as early as Thursday night, July 10. Panel installation is scheduled for Thursday and Friday nights, July 10 and 11, with Saturday night, July 12 and Monday night, July 14 serving as backup dates in case of inclement weather or other delays. In the event of inclement weather, work will shift to the following night(s).

A crane will be deployed on the ramp from northbound GWMP to southbound I-495 to lift the noise wall panels into place (July 2025).

The night work is necessary because setting these noise wall panels requires closing the ramp from northbound George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) to southbound I-495 in order to deploy a crane on the ramp. Ramp closures can only occur during overnight hours when traffic is lightest.

During the overnight ramp closures, northbound GWMP traffic will be detoured across the American Legion Bridge into Maryland to loop back into Virginia on southbound I-495.

Nighttime flagging operations also will be in place on Live Oak Drive during this timeframe while crews install the new noise wall panels.

Additionally, in the vicinity of Live Oak Drive during the coming months, intermittent night work will occur in the center of the Capital Beltway, including installation of bridge girders, drainage, pavement and more. The night work is necessary to maintain the project schedule and open the new Express Lanes in late 2025.

What to Expect:

Nearby residents may experience the following:

• Engine and loading noise from trucks and cranes.
• Noise from tools tightening bolts to secure the panels to vertical beams.
• Back-up alarm beeping (required for safety reasons).
• Light pollution from light towers. To the extent feasible, lights will be directed away from residential areas, but some light pollution is unavoidable.
• Periodic, brief queueing, on Live Oak Drive as flaggers direct one-way traffic in alternating directions between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following morning.

The 495 NEXT project team appreciates neighbors' patience as this impactful work is performed.

Resources:

Learn how various features of the 495 NEXT project interact with your property by using the interactive map on 495NEXT.vdot.virginia.gov. Enter your address in the search bar to view your home in relation to various project features, including the future Beltway itself and location of replacement noise walls.

Check 495NEXT.vdot.virginia.gov for the latest construction updates and to sign up to receive the project newsletter and other information.

Construction plans are subject to change due to weather, utility relocations performed by outside companies, resequencing of work to facilitate on-time completion of the overall project, and other factors.

Questions?

Email: 495NorthernExtension@vdot.virginia.gov

Call: Construction Inquiry Line, 703-592-6430

Virginia Department of Transportation, Michelle Holland, 703-586-0487

Transurban, Mike McGurk, 571-421-5364

Lane Construction, John Undeland, 703-785-3461