HOV Ramps to Monument, Stringfellow Open to All During Off-Peak Hours

All motorists will soon be able to use westbound Interstate 66 exit ramps to Monument Drive and Stringfellow Road (HOV or not) on weekends and during off-peak hours.

The HOV restricted ramps will be available to all starting at 10 a.m. on February 28 in an effort to clear congestion and provide an alternate route for those wanting .

Currently, the Monument Drive and Stringfellow Road ramps are open only to HOV-2 traffic eastbound from 5:30-9:30 a.m. and westbound from 3-7 p.m.  The ramps are closed to traffic during off-peak hours and weekends.

The ramps will be open to all traffic except during HOV hours.  New overhead digital message signs will alert drivers as to when the exit ramps are OPEN, CLOSED or HOV-ONLY.  Traffic signs and signals at the top of the exit ramps have been upgraded and traffic signals near the interchanges will be retimed to accommodate traffic.

VDOT traffic engineers project that up to 5,800 vehicles a day will use the Stringfellow Road ramp and 2,400 vehicles a day will use the Monument Drive ramp. 

Crews started to install a series of new overhead signs on westbound I-66 yesterday. The final cost to open the ramps, including the new signs and installation is about $200,000.