Unbuilt Interstate 266:

1964 Plan I

Plan I from the September 1964 Interstate 266 study had the highway diverging from Interstate 66 in Rosslyn. Specifically, Interstate 266 would tunnel under Fort Myer Drive, Moore Street and Lynn Street. From there it would emerge from its tunnel and cross over the access ramps to and from the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Parkway itself. Interstate 266 would then cross the Potomac River just south of Key Bridge. On the District side of the river, a semi-directional interchange provides both up- and downstream connections to the Potomac Freeway. The exact location is about mid-way on the length of the current Whitehurst Freeway. Remember that the Whitehurst Freeway would have been reconstructed and widened to accommodate the Potomac Freeway and Interstate 266.

This map details Plan I:

The 1964 Plan also included artists renderings of the proposals.

Above: Plan I looking north towards Washington, DC. Interstate 266 is the bridge on the right. Key Bridge is on the left. The Potomac Freeway is on the DC shoreline. The GW Parkway is on the Virginia shoreline.

Above: Plan I looking south towards Virginia and the "Rosslyn Plaza" as it was called in the document. Interstate 266 is the bridge on the left. Key Bridge is on the right. Interstate 66 is the multi-lane expressway running left to right in the top third of the picture. Notice the tunnel that Interstate 266 emerges from before it goes over the Potomac River.

The summary of estimated costs for Plan I was as follows:

Item	Cost
Approach - Virginia Side	$15,889,000
Approach - DC Side	13,736,000
Potomac River Bridge	4,098,000
Right of Way - Virginia Side	10,833,000
Right of Way - District Side	7,879,000
Contingencies at 10%	5,244,000
	================
Grand Total	57,679,000

It should be noted that an modification to Plan I was considered, but rejected. This modification would have taken Interstate 266 over Theodore Roosevelt Island. The island was considered to be "off limits" by decree of the U. S. Park Service.

Source:

Connecting I-66 in Virginia with the Potomac River Freeway in the District of Columbia via an Additional Potomac River Bridge (Location Studies : Interstate Route 266). Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff Consulting Engineers. September 1964.

Please send any updates, comments and corrections to Michael Hale.

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Last Update: 1/28/08