Sign for Dulles Toll Road West to Reston and Herndon (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A new traffic pattern is in effect on Reston Parkway after a crash in July damaged two beams on the bridge over the Dulles Toll Road.

The left lane of the road is closed to reduce the weight placed on the damaged beams. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is working to arrange the repairs on the underside of the bridge.

“Having lost a lane of capacity on southbound Reston Parkway, a longer term pattern was put in place to regain some capacity in the form of a choice lane,” Ellen Kamilakis, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told FFXnow.

The truck crash happened several months ago, Kamilakis said. The left lane of the the southbound Reston Parkway over the toll road was closed on July 10.

While the left lane is still closed, the ramp to the eastbound toll road was re-striped as an exit and thru lane.

Read more on FFXnow…

The Dulles Toll Road by the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The days of saving up loose change to pay the Dulles Toll Road’s fees are officially in the past.

Effective today (Wednesday), the 14-mile highway also known as Route 237 has converted to an all-electronic, cashless payment system, joining the network of express lanes that criss-cross Northern Virginia.

“Eliminating cash toll collection is expected to speed traffic flow and benefit the environment by reducing emissions that would have been produced by vehicles waiting in toll-booth lines,” the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the road, said in a news release.

All coin baskets have now been deactivated.

The MWAA Board of Directors approved the plan to transition away from coin payments on Nov. 16. At that same meeting, the board also increased fees on the Dulles Toll Road for the first time in five years, a hike that took effect on Jan. 1.

Under the new system, payments can be made with an E-Z Pass or mobile apps. Drivers who don’t have an E-Z Pass transponder will be identified by their license plate and get an invoice mailed to them.

For those who “pay by plate,” two-axle vehicles will be charged $5.60 at the toll road’s main plaza and $3.60 on the ramps. That rate includes a $1.60 administrative fee that state law permits MWAA to collect “to recover the costs of pay-by-plate transactions.”

The fees can be paid online before or after an invoice arrives.

Fees are slightly lower for E-Z Pass users at $4 for the main plaza and $2 for the ramps, since they don’t have to pay the administrative fee.

According to MWAA, about 2% or 726,367 Dulles Toll Road transactions were paid by cash in 2022. The authority had already removed many toll booths to create E-Z Pass express lanes in 2019, and manual toll collections ceased in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dulles Toll Road stretches from Route 28 by the Dulles International Airport in the west to the Capital Beltway near Tysons to the east.

Toll revenue goes toward the highway’s operating and maintenance costs, while also funding construction of Metro’s Silver Line, which launched service from Reston to Ashburn on Nov. 15.

Read more on FFXnow…

Dulles Toll Road traffic passing the Herndon Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

There are only a few days left before fee increases go into effect on the Dulles Toll Road.

Beginning Jan. 1, at the main line plaza, tolls will rise from $3.25 to $4 for two-axle vehicles, $6.50 to $8 for three-axle vehicles, $7.75 to $9.25 for four-axle vehicles, and $9 to $10.50 for five-axle vehicles.

The increase was approved by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors earlier this year. This is the first fee increase since 2019.

“Strategic debt management and refinancing efforts have kept toll rates lower than original projections through the years,” MWAA wrote in a statement.

The next toll increase will go into effect on 2028. Overall, hikes are expected every five years, according to MWAA. Increases are expected to continue through 2058.

At the ramps, tolls will increase from $1.25 to $2 for two-axle vehicles, $3 to $4 for three-axle vehicles, $3.50 to $4.50 for four-axle vehicles, and $4 to $5 for five-axle vehicles.

Toll booths will also be eliminated in the coming months, with the system switching to fully electronic payments.

Revenue from the tolls funds operating and maintenance costs, along with a portion of the construction costs for Silver Line. Service for the extension began in mid-November.

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The Dulles Toll Road seen from the Innovation Center Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Drivers on the Dulles Toll Road can expect to pay higher tolls beginning next year.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Board of Directors voted yesterday morning to increase fees for users of the toll road — bringing tolls to $6 for the average driver.

The increase is expected to cover highway operations and maintenance costs, along with a dedicated set-aside for phase two of the Silver Line, which opened Tuesday (Nov. 15). The increase does not directly fund cost overruns associated with the project and has long been anticipated as part of a long-term funding plan.

At the main line plaza, tolls will rise from $3.25 to $4 for two-axle vehicles, $6.50 to $8 for three-axle vehicles, $7.75 to $9.25 for four-axle vehicles, and $9 to $10.50 for five-axle vehicles.

At the ramps, tolls will increase from $1.25 to $2 for two-axle vehicles, $3 to $4 for three-axle vehicles, $3.50 to $4.50 for four-axle vehicles, and $4 to $5 for five-axle vehicles.

The next toll increases is slated for 2028, according to MWAA’s board. “Modest” toll rate hikes are generally expected every five years, MWAA wrote in a statement.

MWAA also plans to collect a $1.60 administrative fee to process tolls for drivers who do not pay with the EZPass. The move comes as the toll road makes a shift to all electronic collections next year.

MWAA plans to eliminate toll boots at existing toll lanes in the coming months.

“Eliminating toll booths is expected to speed traffic flow and benefit the environment by reducing emissions that would have been produced by vehicles waiting in toll-booth lines,” MWAA wrote in a statement.

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Westbound Dulles Toll Road approaching the Fairfax County Parkway exit (via Google Maps)

A plan to increase tolls on the Dulles Toll Road and eliminate the option to pay by cash is barreling towards approval next month.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is expected to vote on the toll increase at a Nov. 16 meeting, a spokesperson told FFXnow.

At a meeting late last week, a board committee unanimously approved both proposals. Tolls would generally rise from $3.25 to $4 at the main line plaza and from $1.50 to $2 on ramps. Similar increases are proposed for vehicles with three or more axles.

The change would go into effect after a public comment period closed earlier this year.

The next toll increase is expected in 2028 while the last toll increase happened in 2019.

Staff noted that so me residents opposed the use of tolls for additional costs associated with the Silver Line and the Dulles Metrorail Project.

“While many of the comments oppose the current allocation of responsibility for funding construction of the Dulles Metrorail Project, that allocation reflects policy decisions and agreements made at the federal, state and regional level over many years,” staff wrote in a statement.

The board will also consider collecting an administrative fee for vehicles that choose the pay-by-plate payment option. The fee — $1.60 per transaction– is not intended to generate any revenue.

The move comes after MWAA transitions from cash payments and moves towards payment via E-ZPass and mobile applications. Residents will have 30 days to pay the toll.

If approved, both proposals would go into effect on Jan. 1.

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(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) A man was killed in a crash on the Dulles Toll Road Wednesday night (Aug. 24), the second reported pedestrian fatality on the highway in as many months.

Chris Baidoe, 26, was hit by a vehicle around 8 p.m. in the toll road’s westbound lanes near the exit to Fairfax County Parkway in Reston, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement.

Read more…

Northbound Hunter Mill Road has been closed at the Dulles Toll Road in the Reston/Wolf Trap area after two vehicles collided this afternoon (Wednesday).

A driver told FFXnow shortly after 3 p.m. that there had been an “accident” on the eastbound ramp to the toll road, and they saw fire trucks and ambulances in the area.

The Fairfax County Police Department confirmed that it has officers on the scene of a two-vehicle crash “involving a dump truck that flipped over” near Hunter Mill the toll road, also known as Route 267.

Read more…

Dulles Toll Road after Route 28 in Herndon (via Google Maps)

Updated at 4:50 p.m. — All lanes and ramps at the Dulles Toll Road/Route 28 interchange have now reopened.

Earlier: All eastbound lanes on the Dulles Toll Road after Route 28 (Sully Road) in Herndon remain closed after a state police trooper crashed into a motorcycle during a pursuit this morning (Thursday).

According to the Virginia State Police, the pursuit began when a trooper tried to stop a motorcycle for speeding on the Dulles Greenway at 9:42 a.m. The biker had been going 84 miles per hour in a 55 mile-per-hour zone.

“The motorcycle refused to stop for the trooper and sped away at an excessive speed,” the VSP said in a news release. “A pursuit was initiated. The motorcycle continued onto the Dulles Toll Road where its operator lost control and crashed.”

Police clarified in an update that the crash occurred when the biker “pulled off to the shoulder and suddenly braked. The trooper was unable to stop in time and struck the motorcycle.”

The motorcyclist, who has been identified as an adult man, was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital to receive treatment for injuries that police say were life-threatening.

According to the VSP, the motorcyclist reached speeds of up to 130 miles per hour during the pursuit east on the Dulles Toll Road. He was wearing a helmet.

“The crash and pursuit remain under investigation,” state police said. A VSP crash reconstruction team is currently on the scene.

The Dulles Toll Road says all eastbound lanes on the toll road and the Airport Access Highway are closed as of 11:55 a.m. The Virginia Department of Transportation has also closed the ramps from north and southbound Route 28 to the eastbound Dulles Toll Road lanes.

Photo via Google Maps

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Three left lanes on the eastbound Dulles Toll Road will be closed tonight so that construction crews can perform civil work near the Herndon Metro station.

The closures will start at 9 p.m. around the 3.3 mile marker by the rail station and extend past the Reston Town Center Metro station to the 5.2 mile marker just beyond Reston Parkway, according to a construction alert from the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

“Drivers are asked to use caution and pay attention to all signage and barricades,” the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project says. “Traffic should be aware of the change in pattern.”

Traffic stoppages on the toll road could last up to 20 minutes at a time.

Christopher Beausoleil, a project manager for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, tells Reston Now that the lane closures are necessary to allow crews to repair a damaged safety cable on the roof of the pedestrian bridge connecting the Herndon station to the new Herndon-Monroe Parking Garage.

According to Beausoleil, the repairs needed are relatively minor, but the Dulles Toll Road lanes will be closed “out of an abundance of caution” to ensure the workers’ safety, since they aren’t allowed to be on the pedestrian bridge when there is traffic on the highway below.

While the lanes are scheduled to be closed until 5 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday), Beausoleil says the actual repair work will likely not take that long. It could potentially be completed within half an hour.

“It will probably be shorter than advertised,” Beausoleil said.

A full list of lane and ramp closures scheduled for this week in the Dulles Toll Road corridor due to ongoing construction activities related to the Silver Line phase two project can be found on the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project website.

Image via Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

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Cash will no longer be accepted at the Dulles Toll Road beginning next year.

The decision, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, was made in response to customers’ preferences for electronic toll payments, according to a statement released yesterday by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

No loose change will be accepted and tollbooth change baskets will be removed as part of the permanent move.

Here’s more information from MWAA on acceptable forms of payment:

Any lane can be used with a valid E-ZPass account or other form of electronic tolling. Customers can visit E-ZPass Virginia for information on how to obtain an E-ZPass. If toll-lane cameras identify a license plate associated with an E-ZPass account, that account will be charged for the transaction even if an E-ZPass is not present in the vehicle.

To make it easier to get an E-ZPass, the minimum opening account balance has been temporarily reduced to $20 per transponder (from $35) for online and phone applications. E-Z Pass also offers a reloadable Virginia E-Z Pass Card, these can be purchased your local CVS Pharmacy and 7-11 Convenience Stores.

The GoToll, Slora and Peasey Drive On smartphone apps are also accepted as payment. 

Motorists passing through all toll plaza lanes without electronic payment will be sent a payment notice by mail. Missed tolls which are paid within six days of the violation will not be charged an administrative fee. Customers are encouraged to visit the Virginia Department of Transportation’s online toll violation payment website for information on proactively paying missed tolls.

In early April,  manual toll collecting was suspended in response to COVID-19. All personnel from toll boots were removed and cash-exchange toll collections were suspended.

Electronic tolling became the preferred method of payment in 2003, when more than $18 million was collected with E-ZPass, compared to roughly $17 million collected in cash that calendar year.

In 2017, roughly $130 million was collected via E-ZPass while nearly $18 million was collected by cash, according to a 2018 study by the MWAA.

Image via Google Maps

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Despite a toll increase that went into effect in January, more drivers are using the Dulles Toll Road than the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority anticipated.

Between January and March, tolls brought in $46.4 million — 31 percent more compared to the same period last year. That gives the MWAA $11.2 million to work with in order to fund phase two of the Silver Line.

Even though the number of toll transactions dipped by 4.8 percent compared to the previous year, transactions were 1.3 percent higher than MWAA expected. So far this year, there have been 21.7 million transactions.

The cost of operations also increased this year. Year-to-date expenses were $1.3 million or 17 percent higher than the same period last year. MWAA attributed this increase to $1 million in operating expenses for expanded service and $300,000 in transaction fees.

Toll prices increased for the first time in four years from $2.50 to $3.25 and from $1 to $1.50 at ramps in order to cover phase two of the Silver Line past Reston Town Center to Dulles International Airport and Ashburn. Another increase is expected in 2023.

Photo via MWAA

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Construction work on the second phase of the Metrorail Silver Line project brings lane and ramp closures from Monday (Jan. 21) until Saturday (Jan. 26).

Most of the closures avoid prime rush hour times.

In a post about the closures, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project reminds drivers to use caution; remain attentive to all signage, barricades and speed limits; and obey all police and flagger instructions. Work is subject to weather changes.

Eastbound on the Dulles Toll Road has a left lane closures from 500 feet west of the Reston Parkway Overpass to 300 feet before the Wiehle Avenue Overpass from Monday until Wednesday. The lane will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.

Then, from Wednesday through Friday, a left lane will be closed from 200 feet west of the Hunter Mill Road Bridge to 700 feet before the Beulah Road Overpass. This will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A final left lane closure eastbound on the Dulles Toll Road will stretch from 400 feet west of the Wiehle Avenue Overpass to 600 feet before the Hunter Mill Road Bridge. This is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., starting Tuesday and ending on Friday.

Two triple left lane closures are also slated from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. They are the following:

  • Monday to Tuesday: from just west of Centreville Road to Herndon Station
  • Tuesday to Wednesday: from Van Buren Street to Reston Town Center Station

The toll road will also have alternating right and left lane closures from just west of the Route 28 Overpass to the Reston Parkway Overpass. The times for this are:

  • Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  • Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Westbound on the Dulles Toll Road also alternating right and left lane closures between the Route 28 and Reston Parkway overpasses. The times for this are:

  • Monday to Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  • Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Westbound also has two triple left lane closures from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. They are:

  • Wednesday to Thursday: from Reston Parkway to the west end of Herndon Station
  • Thursday to Friday: from Van Buren Street to the west end of Innovation Station

Eastbound on Sunset Hills Road will have alternating right and left lane closures from 400 feet west of Town Center Parkway to the Bechtel Building Entrance. The civil work will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday until Thursday and from 9: 30 a.m. to noon on Friday.

 Eastbound on Herndon Parkway from 1,000 feet east of Van Buren Street to 800 feet west of Exchange Place will have a right lane closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday until Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Friday.

Several different spots westbound on Sunrise Valley Drive will have closed right lanes from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, including:

  • from Dulles Technology Drive to Dulles Station Blvd
  • from Thunder Chase Drive to Millburn Lane
  • from Reston Parkway to 200 feet west of Edmund Halley Drive

Edmund Halley Drive will have a right shoulder closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Friday.

Image via Google Maps

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Updated at 9:52 a.m. — United Airlines said that it does not receive a special jet fuel tax break. 

Del. Elizabeth Guzman unveiled a bill yesterday that would lower the tolls on Dulles Toll Road, one month after the toll hikes were approved for next year.

The bill would offset some of the upcoming toll increases by ending what Guzman calls United Airlines’ “jet fuel tax exemption” and directing that roughly $4 million per year toward the Silver Line project, which is currently funded largely by tolls.

That revenue could cancel almost 9 percent of the scheduled 2019 toll increase, according to a press release from UNITE HERE Local 23.

“United Airlines does not receive a special tax break and pays the same jet fuel tax as all other airlines that serve airports in the Commonwealth,” Kimberly Gibbs, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, said.

Gibbs added that the second phase of the Silver Line “will benefit residents, employers and businesses throughout the Dulles corridor.”

In Virginia, larger airlines like United Airlines pay less per gallon in taxes on most of the jet fuel they use, the press release says.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors voted Nov. 14 to increase rates on the Dulles Toll Road for the first time since 2014 to fund the Silver Line extension project and improvements on the Dulles Toll Road, according to the MWAA. Starting in January, the hike will raise the toll from $2.50 to $3.25 at the main toll plaza and from $1 to $1.50 on ramps.

The bill responds to community concerns about the increasing tolls, which are expected to rise to more than $11 by 2043 without alternative funding, the press release said.

“Virginia continues to face a transportation infrastructure funding crisis,” Guzman said. “But Virginia commuters should not be asked to accept higher tolls to fund transit projects that benefit United Airlines, while the airline receives millions in state tax breaks.”

Dels. Kaye Kory and Lee Carter, Virginia AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE Local 23 and CASA in Action, joined Guzman by the windows outside the United Airlines ticketing counters on Wednesday (Dec. 12) at 5 p.m. for the announcement about the bill.

Supporters of the bill argue that the Silver Line project will redirect more of the consumer air traffic market to Dulles International Airport, bringing an additional $66 million to United Airlines with 1 percent more of the regional passenger airline market.

Similar efforts in New Jersey are also underway. In September, the New Jersey Senate passed similar legislation to end United’s jet fuel tax break there to fund aviation-related transit projects.

“Commuters and every other business along the Dulles Corridor are already paying their fair share for the Silver Line. United Airlines should too,” Doris Crouse-Mays, president of the Virginia AFL-CIO, said.

Photo via Nova Labor/Facebook

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