In 1995 the Virginia state legislature passed the PPTA, which authorized VDOT and other public agencies to enter into long-term concession agreements with private firms to develop and/or operate transportation facilities, and laid out a framework for evaluating proposals and developing such agreements. The PPTA allows the submission of unsolicited proposals for most transportation modes (except any seaport or port facility), provided that a policy review is conducted by the state to ensure that the proposal fits with existing transportation plans both statewide and for the affected facility. If the offer is consistent with the state's plans then VDOT is required to initiate a 120-day posting period to invite the submission of competing proposals.
In September 2003, a group led by Clark Construction and Shirley Contracting submitted an unsolicited P3 proposal for a $407 million project to improve a 36 mile section of I-95 from the Springfield Interchange with the Capital Beltway to Route 17 in Stafford County. The conceptual proposal was deemed in accordance with the state's transportation plans, and VDOT invited requests for competing proposals between November 2003 and March 2004. During that time VDOT received one response from 95 Express, which was then negotiating a separate P3 agreement with VDOT to add HOT lanes to the I-495 Capital Beltway. The 95 Express' proposal called for a $1 billion project that would improve 54 miles of I-95 from the 14th Street Bridge at the Arlington County and District of Columbia line south to Massaponax.
The two proposals were reviewed by an initial review panel, which confirmed the developers' qualifications and proposals' financial feasibility. They then recommended that the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) grant preliminary approval before in-depth analysis by an independent advisory panel. The CTB is comprised of 17 members (including the Secretary of Transportation, Commissioner of VDOT, and Director of Department of Rail and Public Transportation) that regulate and fund transportation in the state, as well as oversee the VDOT. In January 2005, the CTB approved and recommended that an independent advisory panel of experts conduct an in-depth review of the proposals to identify a preferred proposer.
In March 2005, both proposers were asked to submit detailed proposals. In addition, both groups were asked to develop their proposals using the same beginning and end points. As a result, the Clark/Shirley/Koch group extended their coverage north to the 14th Street Bridge and south to Massaponax. Detailed proposals were received in June and in November VDOT awarded the project to the 95 Express team. VDOT and 95 Express signed an interim agreement in October 2006 and began preliminary engineering and detailed planning and operations studies for the project, with the costs of those studies to be shared between the two entities.
Initial plans called for construction on the project to begin in late 2009, but the project was delayed due to the Arlington County lawsuit and the subsequent decision not to extend the Express Lanes to the 14th Street Bridge. The six-mile segment that was ultimately abandoned would have generated significant revenues, so VDOT allowed 95 Express to split the project into two phases and no longer required the company to make the $250 million upfront payment.
VDOT and 95 Express executed a P3 concession agreement in July 2012 formally concluding the competitive bidding process through a milestone referred to as reaching "commercial close." They agreed that 95 Express would develop the first phase of the project, including improvements to the existing lanes and the nine-mile extension to Garrisonville.
A two-mile extension further south is planned for construction in 2016-17 to ease congestion issues arising from merging traffic at the existing terminus of the express lanes. A further extension south to Spotsylvania County may be developed under a separate agreement at a later date. In addition, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced in late 2015 that an extension of the express lanes along I-395 in Arlington County through to the District of Columbia line at the 14th Street Bridge will be implemented by converting and expanding the existing HOV lanes. The extension will be developed by Transurban, the primary private firm in 95 Express, under its existing contract with VDOT.