Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meetings - Aug 24 (Ashburn), Sept. 3 and 9

Dulles Toll Road Rate Increase Public Meetings
(per NVTA.org)

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will hold three public meetings in open house format to inform and solicit comments from the community regarding proposed toll rate increases in 2010, 2011, and 2012 to support the Dulles Metrorail Project and other Dulles Corridor transportation improvements.

MWAA's proposal is to raise the rate at the Main Toll Plaza from $.75 to $1.00 in January 2010, to $1.25 in 2011 and to $1.50 in 2012. Ramp rates will be increased from $.50 to $.75 in 2010, and remain at $.75 through 2012. Any toll increases in 2013 and beyond will depend upon many factors, including the actual capital cost of Phase II and receipt of additional federal, state or local funds.

Based on the current estimated $5.25 billion cost for Phases I and II, the sources and projected funding amounts are as follows:

Dulles Toll Road User Fees: $2,761,500,000 (52.6%)
Federal: $900,000,000 (17.1%)
Fairfax County: $845,250,000 (16.1%)
Virginia: $273,000,000 (5.2%)
Loudoun County: $252,000,000 (4.8%)
MWAA: $215,250,000 (4.1%)

The three meeting dates are as follows:


Monday, August 24 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Ashburn Elementary School
44062 Fincastle Drive
Ashburn, VA 20147

Thursday, September 3 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
McLean High School
1633 Davidson Road
McLean, Virginia 22101

Wednesday, September 9 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
South Lakes High School
11400 South Lakes Drive
Reston, VA 20191


Each session will include exhibits on the scope, cost and financing of the Dulles Rail extension; potential future Toll Road improvements; revenue anticipated to be raised from the toll increases and how it will be spent.

Persons attending can record their views by filling out a comment sheet or talking to a court reporter. There will be no microphone or formal public speaking opportunities.


The official comment period is open from August 14 through September 14, 2009.


The Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance is the only organization focused solely on making better transportation a reality for Northern Virginia citizens and businesses.

Virginia Transportation: Our 2 cents - we want it back!

This week's special session for Virginia's legislative bodies in Richmond regarding transportation appears, appears utterly abysmal, deadlocked, useless, etc. - according to most reports on the subject. Furthermore, reports from sources like the Washington Post indicate "some legislators have already dismissed the session".

This will be short, simple, necessarily politically ignorant. We're getting peeved, sitting in hideous traffic trying to get downtown to jobs that protect America.

Evidently the cost of the session is $20,000 a day, to Virginia taxpayers. Using very rough and probably ill-informed math, that amounts to 2 cents from each tax-paying citizen.

We want it back.

Being so bold as to represent all clear-thinking, traffic-hating, non-partisan residents of the Dulles South area of Northern Virginia, we demand the following from our legislators - in fact, we as constituents DIRECT you to execute the following:

1 - go home, reconstitute, have a beer, and get plans together for the next session, keeping in mind the following points.
2 - give us our 2 cents back. We're out of gas.
3 - take your party badges off; start thinking like professionals.
4 - come back to the next session rested, refreshed and ready to work really hard to keep your jobs - we're ready to vote you and your cronies out the door so fast your heads will spin (listen up! the Internet is talking to you - it's not happy, and has a big stick).
5 - consider and immediately accept all reasonable bills that direct methodical, practical cost-savings measures, that seek to raise transportation revenues via non-tax activities - such as those from one of our locals, Bob Marshall.
6 - pass a bit of a tax, on everyone - frankly, with our gas costs (basically broad-based consumer use taxes in themselves) having risen two dollars a gallon over a very short period, a few more cents really doesn't disturb us - if it did, we've got much bigger problems. It may be NOVA and Hampton Roads who've got the biggest problems, but the entire State, all businesses and all citizens benefit from better traffic conditions.
7 - try again on the special tax-raising initiatives for NOVA; ask us, we'll help.
8 - go home, and maybe we'll invite you back to our barbecue, noting your accomplishments.

Dulles South, Northern Virginia

Dulles South and Loudoun Transportation Information

Take a look at the most recent Dulles South Traffic and Transportation presentations given at the Dulles South Business Alliance (DSBA), concerning transportation planning, funding and activities in the area. Presentations include one on the "Dulles Loop Implementation Group" (DLIG) status, one from the "Northern Virginia Transportation Authority" (NVTA), and one on the "Washington Airports Task Force" (WATF) 2008 priorities.

All provide a reasonable picture of real progress being made towards alleviating traffic issues in this area of the county, though there are many years of planning and construction to go. Lots of interesting nuggets.