Dulles Toll Road rates to rise Jan. 1, then for two more years
By: Kytja Weir
Examiner Staff Writer
November 5, 2009
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| The MWAA board voted unanimously to raise tolls on the Dulles Toll Road that now cost 75 cents on the main section and 50 cents for entrances and exits. (Examiner file) |
Drivers can expect to pay up to 50 cents more starting Jan. 1 to travel the Dulles Toll Road, and then an additional quarter each for the following two years in a plan approved Wednesday to raise money for the extension of Metrorail to the airport and beyond.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's board voted unanimously to raise the tolls that now cost 75 cents on the main section of the 14-mile Virginia roadway and 50 cents for entrances and exits.
The access road to the airport will remain free to drivers.
The money is intended to help pay off the interest on bonds taken out to build the 23-mile extension of Metrorail to Washington Dulles International Airport and the hubs of Tysons Corner, Reston and beyond. The first phase of the project, known as the Silver Line, is under way.
More than 200 people submitted comments on the toll proposal, with many arguing that it was unfair for drivers to pay for the rail expansion because they are not using the trains.
The agency, which is overseeing the project, said it has the authority to raise the tolls to pay for projects other than the road itself. And the airports authority needs the money for the more than $5 billion project. The expansion is being paid for with a combination of federal, state and local money with some coming from special tax districts.
Still, the toll increases likely will reduce the number of drivers willing to use the road. In 2005, the only time the rates were raised, the number of vehicles traveling along the road dropped off, from about 111 million transactions each year to 109 million.
"We anticipate that there will be a slight reduction after the tolls increase is applied but we understand that," said Chief Executive Officer James Bennett.
It is not clear if the agency will need to raise tolls in 2013 and beyond. Bennett said that would depend on where the project stands in 2012 and what other funding may be available. The project is supposed to be finished by the end of 2016.
