Thu December 10, 2020 - Northeast Edition The Washington Post New pier for the Route 123 bridge span. The coronavirus pandemic brought challenges to the widening of Virginia's Interstate 66 but also helped to accelerate it. Lower traffic counts over the summer helped to keep the massive toll lane project through the heart of northern Virginia on schedule. Three years after construction began, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recently said work is on pace for the late-2022 opening of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes stretching from University Boulevard in Gainesville to the Ca...