MWAA Plans More E-ZPass Lanes for Dulles Toll Road

by Karen Goff August 20, 2014 at 11:00 am 8 Comments

In an effort for efficiency, more lanes on the Dulles Toll Road will become E-ZPass only, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said on Wednesday.

Beginning Sept. 2, MWAA will convert 19 exact-change lanes into E-ZPass lanes. First up: Westbound Fairfax County Parkways exit, far right lane.

During the conversion project coin baskets will be removed and replaced by upgraded E-ZPass infrastructure. Conversions are scheduled for unattended “exact change” lanes at the main toll plaza and exit ramps along the roadway, says MWAA. To minimize congestion, lanes will be reconfigured one at a time, with each conversion taking two-to-four weeks. When the project is complete, all toll plazas will still have at least one “full service” lane available.

“This lane conversion continues the long tradition of providing a convenient, consistent travel option for drivers in Northern Virginia,” Dulles Toll Road Manager Cyndi Ward said in a statement. “About 90 percent of drivers currently using these lanes are already paying with E-ZPass rather than coins. Full-service lanes will continue to be available at all toll plazas along the roadway for those wishing to pay with cash, but we encourage drivers to consider the added convenience of E-ZPass in order to bypass the lines associated with cash payments.”

Don’t have an E-ZPass? Sign up for one at ezpassva.com.

MWAA will announce other lane conversions as they are about to occur so drivers can plan accordingly.

Photo: Dulles Toll Road/file photo

Holly Weatherwax

I would love to see an EZ-Pass lane added to the right side of the east bound main toll plaza. A HUGE number of folks who exit at Route 7 use EZ-Pass and have to cut across many, many lanes to the Route 7 exit. It has never made sense to me. At the very least, it should be studied.
- Todd
  
  Holly – There is an EZ-Pass only lane on the right side of the Eastbound side, I think you meant the Westbound direction, which I agree with completely. There’s too much extreme maneuvering in that area. I used to enter the toll road via the special Spring Hill exit and would have to carefully navigate that area while I watched for folks trying to make the mad dash for the Rt 7 exit.
  - Holly Weatherwax
    
    You are right, Todd, I did mean westbound…
- GingerR
  
  Just curious, why do you have to cut across “many, many” lanes to the Rt 7 exit? EZ-Pass is accepted at ALL lanes, you may use any lane of your choosing. I think that many people believe that the signs denoting “EZ-Pass only” means that EZ-Pass users must only use those lanes when it actually means that only EZ-Pass users can them. EZ-Pass users don’t have to cut across several lanes of traffic at any time. I am not saying that you are one of them, but far too many times, I have witnessed countless drivers dangerously and illegally crossing several lanes of traffic at the last minute, barely making it safely before crashing into something, to get into a far left lane when they could have simply gone through another open lane. I’ve noticed that often the coins accepted lanes are wide open and I routinely use them with my EZ-Pass, flying by the congested two far left lanes.
  - Holly Weatherwax
    
    Depending on the time of day, Ginger, the lines on the right side are very, very long and rarely wide open. One of the reasons for having the EZ-Pass is to avoid waiting in these lines. It just seems to me if they are promoting ease of use, it would be helpful to have the lanes spread out. Just my opinion…
Gavin

About time.
Arielle in NoVA

Fairfax County Parkway onto the eastbound Toll Road, please.
vdiv

How about adding EZ-Pass only express lanes? Most toll plazas were built to accommodate and extra lane that was never put in place. It’s time to do so.

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