Over the years, proposals for Outer Beltway projects have repeatedly come to the table. It has been a highly controversial road project, that has been both supported and opposed by elected officials and the public. Composed of the "techway," the Western Bypass/WTC, the Inter-County Connector (ICC), and the Montrose Parkway, this highway has been shown by official studies not to relieve congestion on the Beltway, I-95, I-270, I-66 and other major commuter roads.

Virginia's portion of the Outer Beltway would link up with the techway bridge to the north and a southern bridge in Prince William or Stafford Counties. Efforts to build the Outer Beltway have resulted in Route 234 through Prince William and a number of overlapping studies. They include the Western Bypass/WTC – Western Transportation Corridor, the Tri-County Parkway and the Battlefield Bypass. Some of these studies seek to build the same road under a different name. All of them would spell disaster for rural areas of northern Virginia without solving traffic congestion.

Although plans for the Outer Beltway were rejected in 1990 and Governor Glendening cancelled the Intercounty Connector in 1999, road projects that would be part of an outer beltway, such as the "Techway," the Western Bypass/WTC, the Inter-County Connector (ICC), are still under consideration. Although the Western Bypass/WTC – Western Transportation Corridor study was put on hold in 2003 due to lack of funding, the Tri-County Parkway/ Battlefield Bypass studies continue and include the most controversial portions of the WTC, the segment bordering Manassas Battlefield.

Read more to find out the current status of outer beltway related projects:
The "Techway"
The Western Bypass/WTC
The Inter-County Connector (ICC)

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