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It hasn't been a good year for the I-395/95 HOT lanes project.

Back in August, cash-strapped state officials announced they would delay construction on the express lanes, which are slated to run from the Pentagon to Spotsylvania County, intersecting the Beltway at the Springfield Interchange.

Later that same month, Arlington County sued the Federal Highway Administration and Virginia for exempting the HOT lanes from standard environmental scrutiny. Arlington's suit also attacked the project's design, saying it hadn't been thoroughly reviewed and will eventually push some cars off I-395 and onto Arlington's roads.

A few weeks ago, Prince William County officials began threatening legal action of their own.

For tens of thousands of bleary-eyed Fairfax commuters, none of this is particularly good news.

While the HOT lanes project won't single-handedly solve Northern Virginia's traffic nightmare, it is a key piece in a complicated puzzle. Given the lack of transportation money from other traditional sources, it also happens to be the only piece that has a snowball's chance of being completed in the next two years.

The state's decision to put HOT lanes on mothballs until the economy brightens isn't prudent. After all, every business leader in Northern Virginia understands the link between brake lights and profit margins. When people are stuck in traffic, services aren't being provided, appointments aren't being made and contracts aren't being signed.

It's also worth noting that HOT lanes-related land has already been purchased and equipment has been leased. Every lost day has significant consequences in terms of time, money and quality control.

That's what makes Arlington's decision to hold the HOT lanes project hostage so frustrating. Their lawsuit jeopardizes funds for the entire project, not just those segments that sit in Arlington County, and penalizes thousands of Fairfax-, Prince William- and Stafford-bound commuters in the process. Stopping this project at the Beltway, rather than the Pentagon, would place a tremendous strain on the entire corridor and bring arteries like Little River Turnpike and Seminary Road to a virtual crawl for several hours a day.

Arlington's litigation also pours cold water on 80,000 military employees who'll eventually need access to several future bases in the corridor, including Fort Belvoir in southern Fairfax and Alexandria's Mark Center. There's little doubt that additional HOV/HOT lanes were factors in the Pentagon's decision to move thousands of jobs to each of those sites.

There are plenty of other reasons to get these lanes up and running. In addition to upping capacity in an area that's now choking on its own exhaust, the project provides a much-needed $195 million payment to increase transit service and bolster carpool facilities -- including the addition of 3,000 commuter parking spaces -- throughout the corridor.

To her credit, Fairfax County board Chairman Sharon Bulova appears to understand what's at stake and has spent a good chunk of time taking folks in Richmond and Arlington to task for putting the HOT lanes in jeopardy.

The hope here is that a few others -- including our state and federal representatives -- jump on Bulova's bandwagon before a two-month hiccup turns into a ten-year delay.