The new year will bring a new call to reduce the amount drivers pay to use the Dulles Greenway, the privately owned road running through Loudoun County, Virginia.
The 2022 bill to be introduced by state Del. David Reid and Sen. Jennifer Boysko, who represent Loudoun County, would seek to reduce the current toll rates charged on the Greenway, which runs from Leesburg and connects with the Dulles Toll Road, and institute distance-based pricing along the 14-mile roadway.
As of Jan. 1, 2022, the toll for two-axle vehicles will be $5.80 during peak hours, and $5.25 during nonpeak travel, regardless of the distance driven on the Greenway. A 2021 bill, was authored by Sen. John Bell and Del. Suhas Subramanyam. Virginia’s State Corporation Commission forbade a rush hour toll increase, but approved a 25-cent off-peak increase.
“If we’re successful with this legislation, it puts money back in the pocket of the average commuter, business person, real estate agent and parent going to and from their children’s activities,” Reid said in a news release. “According to some estimates, this could save commuters $200-300 per month.”
Boysko, whose district also includes a portion of Fairfax County near Dulles International Airport, said, “This has long been a goal of the Board of Supervisors and every Delegate or Senator that represents constituents along the Dulles Greenway.”
The Dulles Greenway was built and opened with private funds under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988, which enabled businesses to purchase land, build roads and charge tolls to recover costs and make a profit.
“The Greenway is the only privately owned toll road in Virginia, and by some accounts, the only one in the nation,” according to an FAQ released by Reid and Boysko.
In order to take effect, the bill seeks to codify that travel and toll rates on the Greenway is in the public interest, and would reclassify its operation from the Virginia Highway Corporation Act of 1988 to the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 — the authority under which High Occupancy Toll lanes are being built.
Currently, Greenway owners propose toll increases to the State Corporation Commission.
Under the new proposal, two members of Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors and the County Attorney would receive a Non-Disclosure Agreement to be aware of negotiations between the Commonwealth and Greenway owners.
“The Board of Supervisors, and by extension, Loudoun taxpayers, will no longer have to spend taxpayer funds to hire lawyers and lobbyists to fight against the Greenway every year in front of the State Corporation Commission,” according the lawmakers’ FAQ sheet.
Toll Road Investors Partnership II — TRIP II — which is headquartered in Sterling, owns and operates the Greenway.
TRIP II CEO Renee Hamilton said in a statement: “The Greenway supports distance-based pricing, which will be more cost-effective for drivers, and we welcome the opportunity to work with the General Assembly, the Commonwealth, VDOT and Loudoun County.”
