Lawsuit threatens to stop I-495 NEXT roadway construction project

MCLEAN, Va. - One of the largest highway construction projects in our region is the subject of a new federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the work in its tracks.

FOX 5's Bob Barnard says the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension Project in McLean could possibly be put on hold based on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit has been filed in Alexandria by an organization called the Northern Virginia Citizens Association (NOVA).

According to the court documents, I-495 NEXT Project will extend the I-495 express lanes along approximately two miles of the Capital Beltway from their current northern terminus in the vicinity of the Old Dominion Drive overpass to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the McLean area of Fairfax County.

The documents say NOVA is a nonprofit made up of more than 150 members – including 75 who live in the vicinity of the planned flyover ramps that would connect the I-495 NEXT project to the Maryland Project on the Virginia side of the American Legion Bridge.

Barnard reports that the group says the project will impact their quality of life negatively and introduce noise pollution to their neighborhoods. They also say the plans have changed since the original projects was proposed.