Editing Interstate 66 (section)

=== Virginia ===
[[File:Interstate 66.jpg|thumb|I-66 in [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] with the [[Orange Line (Washington Metro)|Metrorail Orange Line]] in the median. The left lane is an [[High-occupancy vehicle lane|HOV lane]], and the right shoulder is used as a travel lane during rush hour; both lanes were widened as part of the Transform 66 project.]]
[[File:2018-10-25 13 28 25 View east along Interstate 66 (Custis Memorial Parkway) from the overpass for North Scott Street in Arlington County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|I-66 at Scott Street in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]]]]
[[File:I-66 and US 50 Arlington.jpg|thumb|I-66 westbound in [[Rosslyn, Virginia|Rosslyn]]]]
I-66 was first proposed in 1956 shortly after [[United States Congress|Congress]] established the Highway Trust Fund as a highway to connect [[Strasburg, Virginia]], in the Shenandoah Valley with Washington, D.C..<ref name="Lynton">{{cite news |last1=Lynton |first1=Stephen |title=A Long Road Bitter Fight Against I-66 Now History |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1982/12/22/a-long-road-bitter-fight-against-i-66-now-history/57a54c65-79ee-40fd-ab6f-ac34a624414d/ |access-date=11 October 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=22 December 1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Guinn |first1=Muriel |title=Approach to Airport Urged for Highway 66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=18 June 1958}}</ref>

During the planning stages, the Virginia Highway Department considered four possible locations for the highway inside the Beltway; in 1959, it settled on one that followed the Fairfax Drive–Bluemont Drive corridor between the Beltway and [[Virginia State Route 120|SR&nbsp;120]] (Glebe Road); and then along the Rosslyn Spur of the [[Washington and Old Dominion Railroad]] (W&OD) between Glebe Road and [[Rosslyn, Virginia|Rosslyn]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]]. The route west of 123 was determined earlier. Two other routes through Arlington neighborhoods and one along Arlington Boulevard were rejected due to cost or opposition.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawson |first1=Jack |title=Arlington Corridor Chosen For Interstate Highway 66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=20 February 1959}}</ref> I-66 was originally to connect to the [[Three Sisters Bridge]], but, as that bridge was canceled, it was later designed to connect to the [[Potomac River Freeway]] via the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ladner |first1=George |title=Committee Will Await Public Reaction Before Deciding on Site for Bridge |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 September 1964}}</ref>

On December&nbsp;16, 1961, the first piece of I-66, an {{Convert|8.6|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section from US&nbsp;29 at [[Gainesville, Virginia|Gainesville]] to [[U.S. Route 29 in Virginia|US&nbsp;29]] at Centreville was opened. A disconnected {{Convert|3.3|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section near [[Delaplane, Virginia|Delaplane]] in [[Fauquier County, Virginia|Fauquier County]] opened next in May&nbsp;1962.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

In July&nbsp;1962, the highway department bought the Rosslyn Spur of the W&OD for $900,000 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|900000|1962}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) and began clearing the way, such that, by 1965, all that was left was dirt and the remains of 200&nbsp;homes cleared for the highway.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rail Spur Quiet for While: But the Old W&OD Route Soon Will Hum With Autos |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=16 November 1964}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=W&OD Rail Spur Bought by State |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=10 July 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cheek |first1=Leslie |title=I-66 in Arlington Planned As Model of Road Beauty |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 October 1965}}</ref> In February&nbsp;1965, the state contracted to buy {{Convert|30.5|mi|km}} of the W&OD from Herndon to Alexandria for $3.5&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|3500000|1965}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) and the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]], by then the owners of the line, petitioned the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] to let them abandon it. The purchase would eliminate the need to build grade separation where the railroad crossed I-66 and would provide {{Convert|1.5|mi|km}} of right-of-way for the highway, saving the state millions.<ref>{{cite news |title=ICC Examiner Favors Death of W&OD Line |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 March 1966}}</ref> The abandonment proceedings took more than three years, as customers of the railway and transit advocates fought to keep the railroad open and delayed work on the highway.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ailing Va. Railroad Allowed to Quit in '68 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=25 January 1968 |ref=Ailing}}</ref> During that time, on November&nbsp;10, 1967, the [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]] (WMATA) announced that it had come to an agreement with the Highway Department that would give them a two-year option to buy a {{Convert|5|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} stretch of the right-of-way from Glebe Road to the Beltway, where I-66 was to be built, and run mass transit on the median of it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Corrigen |first1=Richard |title=WMATA Agrees On Rail Bed Route |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2 November 1967}}</ref> The W&OD ran its last train during the summer of 1968, clearing the way for construction to begin in Arlington County.

While the state waited on the W&OD, work continued elsewhere. The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge opened on June&nbsp;23, 1964, and, in November of that year, the section from Centreville to the Beltway opened. A {{Convert|0.2|mi|km|adj=on}} extension from the Roosevelt Bridge to Rosslyn opened in October&nbsp;1966.

After the [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] (VDOT; then known as the Virginia Department of Highways) took possession of the mainline W&OD right-of-way in 1968, they began to run into opposition as the [[highway revolt]]s of the late 1960s and early 1970s took hold. In 1970, the Arlington County Board requested new hearings, and opponents began to organize marches.<ref>{{cite news |title=1-66 Opponents Schedule Walk |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=25 October 1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=ew Hearing Requested On Va. Designs for I-66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=5 October 1970}}</ref> At the same time, the federal government wanted to pave the right-of-way from Washington Boulevard and Glebe Road to Rosslyn for an experimental busway, which Arlington County opposed, in part because they thought it might delay and add to the cost of I-66.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beckham |first1=Nancy |title=Express Busway Objections Outlined to Arlington Board |work=The Evening Star |date=4 January 1970}}</ref> A significant delay was encountered when the [[Arlington Coalition on Transportation]] (ACT) filed a lawsuit in [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia|Federal District Court]] in 1971 opposing the Arlington County portion of the project. The group objected to that urban segment due to concerns over [[air quality]], [[noise]], unwanted traffic congestion, wasteful spending, impacts on mass transit, and wasted energy by auto travel.<ref name="Lynton" /> In 1972 the [[US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals]] ruled in favor of ACT, technically blocking any construction. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]] upheld the ruling in favor of ACT later that same year.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jay |last= Mathews |title=High Court Backs Delay of Rte. 66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 7, 1972 |page=A1}}</ref>

Again, work continued elsewhere, and, in October&nbsp;1971, the {{Convert|6.6|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section from I-81 to US&nbsp;340/US&nbsp;522 north of Front Royal opened.

In July&nbsp;1974, a final [[environmental impact statement]] (EIS) was submitted.<ref name=Idea>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123024139/http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/idea66/background.asp|archive-date=January 23, 2012|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/idea66/background.asp|title=Background: I-66 History|work=Idea-66|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Transportation]]|access-date=February 25, 2013}}</ref> The EIS proposed an eight-lane [[limited access expressway]] from the [[Capital Beltway]] to the area near [[Spout Run Parkway]].<ref name=Idea /> Six lanes would branch off at the Parkway and cross the [[Potomac River]] via a proposed [[Three Sisters Bridge (District of Columbia)|Three Sisters Bridge]].<ref name=Idea /> Another six lanes would branch off to the [[Theodore Roosevelt Bridge]].<ref name=Idea /> In November, a modified design was submitted, reducing the eight lanes to six. However, in 1975, VDOT disapproved the six-lane design.<ref name=Idea />

The parties then agreed on experts to conduct [[air quality]] and noise studies for VDOT, selecting the firm of [[ESL Incorporated]], the expert hired originally by ACT. In 1976, [[United States Secretary of Transportation]] [[William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.]] intervened. On January&nbsp;4, 1977, Coleman approved federal aid for a much narrower, four-lane limited access highway between the Capital Beltway and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.<ref name=Idea /> As part of the deal, Virginia officials agreed to provide more than $100&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|100000000|1977}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) in construction work and funds to help build the Metro system, which has tracks down the I-66 median to a station at [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]] in Fairfax County; to build a [[multiuse trail]] from Rosslyn to Falls Church; and to limit rush-hour traffic mainly to car pools.<ref name=Idea /><ref>{{cite web |title=An Abridged I-66 Chronology |work=The Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation |url=http://www.acstnet.org/66part6.htm |access-date=February 5, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060809011723/http://www.acstnet.org/66part6.htm |archive-date=August 9, 2006 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hogan |first1=C. M. |first2=Harry |last2=Seidman |name-list-style=amp |title=Air Quality and Acoustics Analysis of Proposed I-66 through Arlington, Virginia |publisher=ESL Inc. |id=Technical Document T1026 |location=Sunnyvale, CA |year=1971}}</ref> Three more lawsuits would follow, but work began on August&nbsp;8, 1977, moments after US District Court Judge Owen R. Lewis denied an injunction sought by highway opponents.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boodman |first1=Sandra |last2=McCallister |first2=Bill |title=Virginia Crew Starts Clearing Path for I-66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=9 August 1977}}</ref>

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the highway's final miles were built. A {{Convert|2.9|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section from Delaplane to US&nbsp;17 east of Marshall was completed in two sections in 1978 and 1979. The {{Convert|15.6|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section from US&nbsp;340 to Delaplane was completed in August&nbsp;1979. A {{Convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} section between US&nbsp;17 in Marshall and US&nbsp;15 in [[Haymarket, Virginia|Haymarket]] opened in December&nbsp;1979, with the gap between Haymarket and Gainesville closed on December&nbsp;19, 1980.<ref>{{cite news |title=12 More Miles of I-66 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 December 1979}}</ref> On December&nbsp;22, 1982, the final section of I-66 opened between the Capital Beltway and US&nbsp;29 (Lee Highway) in Rosslyn, near the Virginia end of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.<ref name=Idea/>

The [[Custis Trail]], the trail along I-66 built between Rosslyn and Falls Church as a concession, opened in the summer of 1982, before the highway was complete. [[Virginia State Route 267|SR&nbsp;267]] ([[Dulles Access Road]]) between I-66 and the airport opened in 1984.<ref name=Idea /> The Metrorail in the median of I-66 between [[Ballston, Virginia|Ballston]] and Vienna, another concession, opened on June&nbsp;7, 1986.

After opening, the restrictions on use began to loosen. In 1983, Virginia dropped the HOV requirement from 4 to 3 and then from 3 to 2 in 1994. In 1992, motorcycles were allowed.<ref name=Idea />

On October&nbsp;9, 1999, [[Act of Congress|Public Law]] 106-69 transferred from the federal government to the [[Virginia|Commonwealth of Virginia]] the authority for the operation, maintenance, and construction of I-66 between Rosslyn and the Capital Beltway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ69/pdf/PLAW-106publ69.pdf|title=Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000: Public Law 106-69: 106th Congress|work=Sec. 357|page=113 Stat. 1027|date=October 9, 1999|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|access-date=February 25, 2013|quote=Sec. 357. (a) Notwithstanding the January 4, 1977, decision of the Secretary of Transportation that approved construction of Interstate Highway 66 between the Capital Beltway and Rosslyn, Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, in accordance with existing Federal and State law, shall hereafter have authority for operation, maintenance, and construction of Interstate Route 66 between Rosslyn and the Capital Beltway, except as noted in paragraph (b).<br />(b) The conditions in the Secretary's January 4, 1997 decision, that exclude heavy duty trucks and permit use by vehicles bound to or from Washington Dulles International Airport in the peak direction during peak hours, shall remain in effect.|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307024623/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ69/pdf/PLAW-106publ69.pdf|archive-date=March 7, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Because I-66 is the only Interstate Highway traveling west from Washington, D.C., into [[Northern Virginia]], traffic on the road is often extremely heavy. For decades, there has been talk of widening I-66 from two to three lanes each way inside the Capital Beltway (I-495) through Arlington County, Virginia, although many Arlington residents are adamantly opposed to this plan. In 2004–2005, Virginia studied options for widening the highway inside the Beltway, including the prospect of implementing a one-lane-plus-shoulder extension on westbound I-66 within the Beltway (in an attempt to reduce congestion for people commuting away from D.C.).<ref>{{cite news |first=Ron |last=Shaffer |title=Dr. Gridlock |date=October 21, 2005 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/10/21/DI2005102101155.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000207/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/10/21/DI2005102101155.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> They later settled on three planned "spot improvements" meant to ease traffic congestion on westbound I-66 inside the Capital Beltway. The first improvement, a {{Convert|1.9|mi|km|adj=on}} zone between Fairfax Drive and Sycamore Street, started in summer 2010 and was finished in December&nbsp;2011. For this project, the entrance ramp acceleration lane and the exit ramp deceleration lanes were lengthened to form a continuous lane between both ramps. The {{Convert|12|ft|m|adj=on}} shoulder lane can carry emergency vehicles and can be used in emergency situations.<ref>{{cite news |title=I-66 Spot Improvements-Spot 1 |date=August 25, 2011 |publisher=Virginia Department of Transportation |url=http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/i-66_spot_improvements_-_spot_1.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808144814/http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/i-66_spot_improvements_-_spot_1.asp |archive-date=August 8, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Robert |title=Work to begin on second 'spot improvement' for I-66 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2013/10/18/work-to-begin-on-second-spot-improvement-for-i-66/ |access-date=12 October 2018 |date=18 October 2013}}</ref> The second one widened {{convert|1.675|mi|km}} between the Washington Boulevard onramp and the ramp to the Dulles Access Road. Work on it began in 2013 and finished in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=I-66 Spot 2 Improvements Project|url=http://www.ces-consultingllc.com/2017/03/03/i-66-spot-2-improvements-project/ |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref> The third project, between Lee Highway/[[Spout Run]] and Glebe Road, was completed in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visualize 2050 and FY2026-2029 TIP April 26, 2024 |url=https://www.mwcog.org/file.aspx?&A=C0j3zFMDL3iC4OEZww30WipWTN%2BFx83iyMFF5gha8H8%3D |access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=I-66 Multimodal Improvement Project inside the Capital Beltway |url=http://www.transportationplanninghub.org/high-profile-projects/i-66-multimodal-improvement-project-inside-capital-beltway |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-date=October 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012134839/http://www.transportationplanninghub.org/high-profile-projects/i-66-multimodal-improvement-project-inside-capital-beltway |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Update after|2020}}

In Gainesville, Virginia, the Gainesville Interchange Project upgraded the interchange between US&nbsp;29 and I-66 for those and many other roads due to rapid development and accompanying heavy traffic in the Gainesville and Haymarket area. I-66's overpasses were reconstructed to accommodate nine lanes (six general purpose, two HOV, and one [[collector–distributor]] eastbound) and lengthened for the expansion of US&nbsp;29 to six lanes. These alterations were completed in June&nbsp;2010. In 2014–2015, US&nbsp;29 was largely grade-separated in the area, including an interchange at its current intersection with [[Virginia State Route 619 (Prince William County)|SR&nbsp;619]] (Linton Hall Road). The project began in 2004 and finished in 2015.<ref name=NVTA-Gainesville>{{cite web|url=http://www.nvta.org/content.asp?sl=459&contentid=1889|title=Gainesville Interchange Project|access-date=July 4, 2011|year=2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309034236/http://www.nvta.org/content.asp?sl=459&contentid=1889|archive-date=March 9, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==== Transform 66 ====
[[File:2016-10-28 12 08 38 View east along Interstate 66 just east of Exit 52 (U.S. Route 29 to Virginia State Route 28 South, Centreville) in Centreville, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|I-66 eastbound past the [[U.S. Route 29 in Virginia|U.S. Route 29]] in [[Centreville, Virginia]]]]
The [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] announced its public-private partnership with the [[Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation]], and the private partner, I-66 Express Mobility Partners, with an estimating $3.7 billion dollars for transportation/road improvements along the I-66 corridor. The project, known as Transform 66, opened to traffic in November 2022 and the HOV rule changed from HOV-2+ to HOV-3+ in early December 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transform 66 – Outside the Beltway – About the Project |url=https://outside.transform66.org/about_the_project/default.asp |website=outside.transform66.org |access-date= April 24, 2022}}</ref>

=====Timeline=====
[[File:2016-10-02 07 50 38 View north along U.S. Route 29 (west along the Whitehurst Freeway and K Street) at the eastern end of Interstate 66 (Potomac River Freeway) in Washington, D.C..jpg|thumb|The eastern terminus of I-66 at [[U.S. Route 29 in Virginia|U.S. Route 29]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
In 2015, the [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] planning board added I-66 HOT lanes to their list of priority projects for the I-66 corridor.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Thomson |first1= Robert |title= I-66 HOT lanes plan reviewed by regional panel |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/02/18/i-66-hot-lanes-plan-reviewed-by-regional-panel/ |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= February 18, 2015 |access-date= May 10, 2015 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150508220148/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/02/18/i-66-hot-lanes-plan-reviewed-by-regional-panel/ |archive-date= May 8, 2015 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> The projects have sparked opposition between residents and community businesses over the direction of this region's future infrastructure planning. The VDOT established a "Transform 66" website on regional traffic issues. Residents living within the I-66 corridor have set up "Transform 66 Wisely", a website describing local community impacts that the VDOT projects may cause. Local business groups and [[Chambers of Commerce]] located near the affected areas, however, supported the improvements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insidenova.com/news/business/fairfax/commentary-business-groups-urge-action-on-i--outside-the/article_01965472-ec2e-11e4-89b2-d3a21ba6ae14.html#user-comment-area|title=Commentary: Business groups urge action on I-66 outside the Beltway|work=INSIDENOVA.COM|date=April 29, 2015 }}</ref>

Residents along the I-66 corridor, such as in Arlington County, have resisted I-66 widening proposals for many years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/officials-to-consider-road-widening-hot-lanes-through-arlington-portion-of-i-66/2014/12/12/2bf9a97e-824a-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html|title=Officials to consider road widening, HOT lanes through Arlington portion of I-66|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310163533/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/officials-to-consider-road-widening-hot-lanes-through-arlington-portion-of-i-66/2014/12/12/2bf9a97e-824a-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html|archive-date=March 10, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The local Stenwood Elementary School would lose its attached field, leaving it with blacktop-only recess space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2015/04/deal-close-save-homes-66-widening/|title=Deal close to save homes from I-66 widening|date=April 29, 2015 |publisher=WTOP|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502232728/http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2015/04/deal-close-save-homes-66-widening/|archive-date=May 2, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In an April&nbsp;16, 2015, letter to the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, members of the 1st, 8th, 10th, and 11th districts of Congress wrote that VDOT research noted that, during peak hours, 35&nbsp;percent of eastbound cars and 50&nbsp;percent of westbound cars are HOV violators.

Future federal steps for VDOT include [[National Environmental Policy Act]] (NEPA) review, obligation of federal funds, certification that the conversion to tolled facilities will not "degrade" the existing facility, and potential federal loan guarantee. The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) is responsible for overseeing VDOT and allocating highway funding to specific projects. The board has 18&nbsp;members appointed by the Governor,<ref>{{cite web |title=CTB Member Roll |url=http://www.ctb.virginia.gov/resources/14058_CTB_may2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103405/http://www.ctb.virginia.gov/resources/14058_CTB_may2014.pdf |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> includes the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, [[Aubrey Layne]], and is the group that will be making the final decision and allocating funding for VDOT's plans for I-66.

In 2016, VDOT announced that it was planning to add express lanes and multimodal transportation improvements to I-66 outside the Beltway (the "Transform 66 Outside the Beltway" improvement project). A decision was also made to move forward with widening I-66 eastbound and make multimodal improvements from the Dulles Airport connector to Ballston, the "Transform 66 Inside the Beltway" improvement project.<ref>{{cite web |title=PLANS TO EXTEND I-395 EXPRESS LANES LAUNCHED |url=http://inside.transform66.org/documents/march2016_01_asset_upload_file263_79566.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://inside.transform66.org/documents/march2016_01_asset_upload_file263_79566.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref>

VDOT also announced during 2016 that it would initiate on I-66 a dynamic tolling system in the peak travel directions during rush hours. On December&nbsp;4, 2017, VDOT converted {{convert|10|mi|km|}} of I-66 between US&nbsp;29 in Rosslyn and the Capital Beltway to an HOV variable [[congestion pricing]] tolling system. The system permits solo drivers to use I-66 during peak travel hours in the appropriate direction if they pay a toll.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lazo |first1=Luz |title=Interstate 66 tolling starts Monday. Here's what you need to know. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/interstate-66-tolling-starts-monday-heres-what-you-need-to-know/2017/12/02/800454e2-d535-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html |access-date=12 October 2018 |date=2 December 2017}}</ref>

VDOT designed the price of toll to keep traffic moving at a minimum of {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and to increase the capacity of the road. Carpools and vanpools (with three or more people), transit, on-duty law enforcement and first responders do not pay a toll.<ref name=inside>{{Cite web|url=http://inside.transform66.org/default.asp|title=Transform 66 in Northern Virginia|work=Inside the Beltway|language=en|access-date=February 9, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080600/http://inside.transform66.org/default.asp|archive-date=February 11, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Prices were as high as $47 one-way during the lanes' first weeks of operations, attracting controversy and national media attention. The average speed during the morning rush hour was {{convert|57|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} versus {{convert|37|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} a year before.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schaper |first=Davis |title=Are $40 Toll Roads The Future? |language=en |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/12/12/570248568/are-40-toll-roads-the-future |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213004447/https://www.npr.org/2017/12/12/570248568/are-40-toll-roads-the-future |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Massimo |first1=Rick |last2=Nadeem |first2=Reem |date=December 4, 2017 |title=Tolls stabilize during first afternoon rush hour on I-66 inside Beltway |language=en-US |publisher=WTOP |location=Washington, DC |url=https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2017/12/interstate-66-rush-hour-tolls-begin-inside-beltway/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213143446/https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2017/12/interstate-66-rush-hour-tolls-begin-inside-beltway/ |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Astor |first1=Maggie |title=A $40 Toll to Drive 10 Miles? It Happened on Virginia’s I-66 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/us/i66-toll-virginia-washington.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 December 2017}}</ref> In 2023, VDOT reported that the average charge to travel the length of the tolled section was $6.31 in mornings and $5.10 in evenings. 0.04% of trips cost more than $40, and it was the first time that any trips at all had crossed that amount since 2020.<ref name="vdothot">{{cite web |title=I-66 Express Lanes Inside the Beltway Performance Report for 2023 |url=https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/media/vdotvirginiagov/projects/megaprojects/66expresslanes/documents/_2023-Annual-V02d_acc07292024_PM.pdf |publisher=VDOT}}</ref>

In 2017, construction began on the "Transform 66 Outside the Beltway" improvement project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://outside.transform66.org/|title=Transform 66 in Northern Virginia – Outside the Beltway|website=outside.transform66.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-09|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306201714/http://outside.transform66.org/|archive-date=March 6, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The project added {{convert|22.5|mi|km}} of new dynamically-tolled express lanes alongside I-66 from I-495 to University Boulevard in Gainesville. It also built new park and ride facilities, interchange improvements and {{convert|11|mi|km}} of expanded multi-use trail. The project was completed in November&nbsp;2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://outside.transform66.org/|title=Transform 66 - Outside the Beltway|website=outside.transform66.org}}</ref>

Construction on widening eastbound I-66 as part of the "Transform 66 Inside the Beltway" improvement project began in June&nbsp;2018 and  was completed in 2020. The project added a travel lane on eastbound I-66 between the Dulles Access Road and [[Virginia State Route 237|Fairfax Drive]] (exit&nbsp;71) in Ballston, and provided a new ramp-to-ramp direct access connection from eastbound I-66 to the [[West Falls Church station]] at the SR&nbsp;7 interchange and provided a new bridge for the [[Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park|W&OD Trail]] over US&nbsp;29.<ref name=inside />{{Update after|2020}}

VDOT completed in August&nbsp;2018 a [[diverging diamond interchange]] in Haymarket at the interchange of I-66 with [[U.S. Route 15 in Virginia|US&nbsp;15]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Diverging-diamond completion to be celebrated in Haymarket |url=https://www.insidenova.com/news/transportation/prince_william/diverging-diamond-completion-to-be-celebrated-in-haymarket/article_d1fbf8b2-9be7-11e8-8943-bbb156217784.html |access-date=11 October 2018 |work=InsideNova |date=August 9, 2018}}</ref><!-- <ref>{{cite news |last1=Pascale |first1=Jordan |title=First Ride: Northern Virginia Opens New "66-Parallel" Bike And Walking Trail |url=https://dcist.com/story/23/05/17/first-ride-northern-virginia-opens-new-66-parallel-bike-and-walking-trail/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517221900/https://dcist.com/story/23/05/17/first-ride-northern-virginia-opens-new-66-parallel-bike-and-walking-trail/ |url-status=live |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=DCist |date=17 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Time to ride: Shared-use path parallel to I-66 officially opens in Vienna |url=https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/time-to-ride-shared-use-path-parallel-to-i-66-officially-opens-in-vienna/article_befe4c00-f589-11ed-9e40-7b63cd123303.html |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=INSIDENOVA.COM |date=18 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref> -->