Dulles Toll Road Fees Increase
Come January 1st, drivers will be paying a quarter more at the main toll plaza of the Dulles Toll Road for a total of $1, then a quarter more each year in 2011 ($1.25) and 2012 ($1.50).
The doubling of the tolls became effective after The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority accepted staff recommendations and voted to increase fees at an MWAA board meeting on Nov. 4th. The money raised from the toll hikes will help pay for the $5.2 billion Dulles Metrorail project that will extend the Orange Line after East Falls Church into Loudoun.
In addition to increases at the main toll plaza, ramp rates will rise from 50 cents to 75 cents in 2010.
Fairfax Landowners Approve Metrorail Tax District
A majority of Fairfax County landowners affected by a proposal to create a special tax district to help fund the 23-mile Metro extension project into Loudoun have approved the plan, local media reported recently.
The nonprofit group Western Alliance for Rail to Dulles, announced in early October that 35 major landowners — who constitute 57 percent of those affected — signed a petition approving the tax.
The new tax district would pay for $330 million in capital funding for the project, according to the Washington Post. If approved by the Herndon Town Council and Fairfax Board of Supervisors, landowners will pay 5 cents per $100 of assessed value next year and then 20 cents in 2013.
HOT Lanes Project Faces More Opposition
Even as Virginia’s plan to create high-occupancy toll lanes along 56 miles of the I-95/I-395 languishes for lack of money, more area governments are signing on to challenge the project.
The Alexandria City Council recently approved a resolution to “strongly oppose†the HOT lanes from the Petnagon to Massaponax in Spotsylvania County, citing potential noise, traffic and pollution concerns, the Washington Business Journal has reported. WBJ also has reported that although Prince William County has declined to join Arlington County’s lawsuit against the project, the county may file its own suit.