U.S. subsidiary Lane of Webuild Group serves as design-build contractor to Transurban on project to improve mobility in Commonwealth of Virginia

Work involves extending express lanes in one of busiest U.S. networks to bring congestion relief, new travel choices, and road safety

With a global track record of approximately 82,600 kilometres of roads and highways, Webuild works alongside U.S. institutions to modernise transport infrastructure 

MILAN, March 18, 2025 – Lane, the U.S. subsidiary of the Webuild Group, in its role as Transurban’s design-build contractor, has reached an important milestone on the 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, with the installation of steel girders to form the foundation of a new express lanes ramp. The project is part of the work being done to extend Virginia’s 145-kilometres express lanes network, one of the busiest in the country, to bring congestion relief and improve road safety. Transurban selected Lane as its contractor responsible for the $441M design and construction portion of the $660M project which spans a four-kilometre section of Interstate 495 (I-495). So far, it is 75 percent completed.

On what has been coined “Big Beam Weekend” along I-495, five massive steel girder assemblies, consisting of 10 beams total, were installed to span 90 metres over the northbound lanes, forming the foundation for a new express lanes ramp. Each girder measures more than 3 metres in height, nearly 1 metre in width, and 90 metres in length. Their weigh ranges between 70 and 80 tons. 

Delivered flat by truck due to their size, the beams had to be lifted upright by cranes in a designated staging area. During the “Big Beam Weekend”, the cranes hoisted and secured the girders into place. As the largest girder installation for the 495 NEXT project, lane closures and an extended work period were required to ensure safety, as the work could not be performed over traffic.

Delivered under a public-private private partnership between Transurban, global infrastructure developer and operator, and the Virginia Department of Transportation, the new lanes are set to open by end-2025, with the completion of the entire project by mid-2026.

The accumulated experience between Webuild and Lane has made them builders of reference for the modernization of the country’s road and highway network. In Virginia, their track record includes the 13-kilometre I-395 Express Lanes Extension through Fairfax County, Alexandria, and Arlington to the Washington, D.C. border; 47 kilometres of the 95 Express Lanes from Alexandria to Stafford; and nearly 22 kilometres of the 495 Express Lanes segment from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road. The Group is also involvedin upgrading the I-275/I-4 Downtown Interchange in Tampa, Florida, and the I-77/I-40 Interchange in Iredell Country in North Carolina.