WASHINGTON — Many drivers have feared the cost of taking the Dulles Toll Road would keep rising in order to pay for the Silver Line rail project.
But leaders now say the tolls will remain unchanged for the next four, or more, years.
“The next increase would be projected in 2019,” according to Andy Rountree, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the toll road.
The latest price hike took effect in January, raising the total cost of a trip on the Dulles Toll Road to $3.50, from $2.75.
Under projections shown during MWAA meetings at Dulles Airport Wednesday, the cost of a trip would remain at $3.50 through 2018, before jumping to $4.75 in 2019.
Further projections show a trip on the road costing $6.00 in 2023, $8.75 in 2033, and $11.25 in 2043.
The tolls would stay fixed through 2018 as a result of new funding sources for the Silver Line. MWAA’s Board of Directors moved to accept $300 million in funds from Virginia, while also seeking a loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
A TIFIA loan issued in February is also credited with keeping the rates low until 2019.
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