SPRINGFIELD, Va. It took eight years and $676 million but one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the northeastern U.S. has a new interchange.

Called "the Mixing Bowl," the new interchange is made up of more than 50 ramps and bridges that link Interstates 95, 395 and 495. It also includes 80 lane-miles of pavement.

For those not familiar with the area, it is southwest of Washington, D.C. and directly west of Alexandria, Va., where I-95 merges with the Capital Beltway (I-495).

More than 430,000 vehicles use the interchange daily and during one two-year period before construction began there were 179 accidents, one of the highest accident rates of any East Coast interchange.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said the Springfield Interchange Project would "greatly improve the quality of life for nearly half-a-million motorists a day."

One of the key goals of the interchange is to separate local and interstate traffic. Previously, commercial trucks mixed with drivers, many of them tourists, who are unfamiliar with the area.

Traffic experts say that once bus and truck drivers learn to navigate the additional lanes, travel should be smoother through the region.

One thing the new interchange is not expected to do is make a huge dent in traffic congestion. Thats because of the consistently high volume of vehicles.

Additionally, bus operators, truckers and other motorists remain at the mercy of several other large construction projects in the area, including the mega Woodrow Wilson Bridge project.

The first Wilson Bridge span, which connects Virginia to Maryland over the Potomac River, was completed last year, with the second bridge scheduled for completion next year.

Currently, the bridge project is a bottleneck, but trucks, buses and autos should expect improved traffic flows when its completed.

However, a spokesman for the Wilson Bridge project cautions that full improvements may not be seen until 2010, when the Telegraph Road interchange on the Virginia side is finished.

It is estimated that 295,000 vehicles will travel over the Wilson Bridge daily in 2020.