THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070498
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MANASSAS, VA. LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Construction has begun on a key road project needed to carry traffic to the proposed Walt Disney Co. theme park in western Prince William County.
Crews began work Tuesday on widening 4.5 miles of Interstate 66 outside the Capital Beltway.
The addition of two lanes in each direction between Centreville and Manassas will enable the road to handle traffic from the western suburbs' expanding population.
When the project is finished in about two years, commuters and tourists will have 30 miles of car-pool lanes between Manassas and downtown Washington.
In the meantime, construction will cause delays. No lanes will be closed during rush hours, but lanes will be closed at other times and on weekends.
``We realize during the period of construction there will be many delays and much frustration,'' said Del. Harry J. Parrish, R-Manassas.
I-66 has not been widened since it was finished outside the Beltway in 1966. The highway was designed for 47,300 vehicles a day but now carries an average of 87,000.
KEYWORDS: DISNEY'S AMERICA by CNB